Dark Skies
by Madax Davids
Summary: After a terrible storm sweeps over Jump City, a boy with strange powers washes ashore on the Titan's island. Who is this new character? Where did he come from? And what is he hiding behind those glasses?
1. Chapter 1

KRAKABOOOM! As Jetstream flew through the dark, cloudy sky, thunder rattled his teeth and shook the air around him. His rain soaked clothes clung to his freezing body, despite the harsh winds that whipped around him. A crack of lighting flashed in front of him, sending electrical tingles down his spine. A deafening clap of thunder instantly followed that left Jetstream's ears ringing. He had to find land. Soon. He began a slow descent to the ground, hoping he could get below the storm. He knew he was still flying over ocean, but maybe the air closer to the water was calmer. The black clouds seemed endless, and Jetstream was finding it harder and harder to maintain flight. The winds that usually obeyed his every command were acting wild and unruly in the storm. He willed them to take him lower, but soon found he had completely lost control. His cry of anguish was lost in the shrieking winds as Jetstream was whipped mercilessly back up into the void like clouds.

_The next day…_

Titans Tower stood gleaming in the early morning sunlight. A soft rainbow arced across the horizon, like an apology for the previous night's terrible storm. Debris, natural and manmade, littered the island, a reminder of nature's terrible power. Despite a few broken windows, Titans Tower stood unharmed. On the inside of the tower, four of the five Titans were gathered in the main room. Robin sat at the monitor bordering the windows, examining the city's vital gas and electrical lines for damage. Raven sat cross legged on the couch, nose buried in a book. While Starfire and Cyborg worked in the kitchen to make waffles for the team's breakfast.

"Man, that was some storm last night. Dang thunder woke me up twice." Said Cyborg as he mixed the waffle batter.

"Indeed." Agreed Starfire. "Though I found the sound of the rain to be quite, relaxing." She gathered the plates from the cabinet and floated over to the table. Robin got up from the monitor and walked over to help her set it.

"Well, the city is relatively unharmed, just a few fires and some minor damage. We can head out later and help with cleanup."

"Sounds like a plan." Commented Cyborg. They had just finished laying out the plates when the elevator beeped and opened up. A green falcon flew in and perched on the couch next to Raven. As soon as it landed the falcon began to grow and change form. Soon Beast Boy was crouched on the top of the couch with a worried look on his face.

"Guys! We have a problem!" He announced as he hopped off the couch.

"Let me guess." Replied Raven without looking up from her book. "The pizza place got hit by the storm?"

"No!" Retorted Beast Boy, obviously annoyed. "I was flying around the island, looking at the damage, and I saw a dude knocked out on our beach." That got everyone's attention, even Raven lifted her head from her book.

"Are you sure it wasn't just some driftwood?" She asked. Beast Boy turned and pulled his eyelids up at her.

"I had the eyes of a falcon, Ray. I know what I saw."

"Then there's no time to lose." Commanded Robin. "Beast Boy, lead the way." With Beast Boy in the lead the Titans hurried into the elevator and headed to ground level. Soon the five Titans were outside the tower, following Beast Boy down towards the water. The path was barely visible after the battering from the night before. Debris was littered all over the place, and entire chunks of the worn path were missing.

"I didn't think it was this bad out here." Commented Robin. "We're going to have to clean this place up before we can worry about the city."

"Yeah." Agreed Cyborg as he blasted a tree limb off the path. "Storm really did a number on the island." As they kept moving the water and shoreline came into view.

"That's not the only thing it did a number on, look." Raven pointed down to the shore at a figure laying prone on the sand. His lower body was trapped under a large metal beam, and he was lying still, very still. Cyborg and Robin quickly ran over to the body, jumping over fallen trees and metal beams alike, while Beast Boy, Raven, and Starfire flew down towards him.

"Star, help me with this beam." Said Cyborg as he grabbed the end of it. The two Titans easily lifted the creaking meta; off of the unconscious boy and threw it to the side. Robin knelt down and turned the boy over on his back. He felt his neck for a pulse.

"Is he uuhh, you know?" Starfire asked tentatively.

"He's alive." Replied Robin as he lifted the boy into his arms. "But just barely, he needs medical attention, stat." Robin walked over to Raven and held out the boy. "Take him to the medical floor, we'll be there as soon as possible." Raven nodded her head and took hold of the castaway using her powers. A black aura surrounded the boy and he began to float. She quickly faded into a black portal, boy in tow.

"Well BB, you were right." Chimed Cyborg. Beast boy transformed out of his bird form and smirked.

"Told ya dude, eyes of a falcon."

Meanwhile, back in the tower, Raven was getting the boy set up on a medical bed. She pulled out a white medical cot and set him down on it. It was after she laid him down that she really got a good look at him. He had dark black hair that whipped back over his head and flowed out below his ears. His face was cut and battered, but it was nothing few bandages wouldn't fix. He also had on a pair of black lensed, gold rimmed, aviator glasses that were tinted so thickly Raven couldn't see the boy's eyes at all. For some reason when she focused on the glasses, a chill ran down her back. Raven decided to ignore it. His clothes were still soaking wet and felt cold to the touch. He was wearing a brown aviator jacket, with a black undershirt beneath it. He also had on jeans that were dirty and faded, but made of durable material. His shoes were also soaked and dripping off the edge of the table. Raven used her powers to sit the boy up and removed his soaking jacket, work boots, and socks. His body temperature was dangerously low and the drenched clothes weren't helping. As his undershirt floated up and off his body Raven saw that the boy had a large tattoo on his back. It depicted two wings, like an angels wings, in a folded position. Raven stopped and stared at the wings for a moment. They looked so real that she thought they might unfold from the boy's shoulders and start flapping. They were, however, just tattoos. As she laid the boy back down Raven noticed that his glasses had somehow stayed on his face. Curiosity began to gnaw at her and she had a sudden strong desire to see the boy's eyes. As she reached out to grab the glasses she got a sick feeling in her stomach, like something very bad was about to happen. She faltered for a moment, hand outstretched. She had learned to listen to her gut feelings, she normally had a sense for when something was going to go wrong. After a moment Raven decided she was being ridiculous, they were just a pair of glasses. Right? She began to inch her hand closer to his face. Her fingertips were just about to touch the rim of the glasses when a cold hand snapped onto her wrist. As the boy bolted upright Raven tried to move away, startled by his sudden movement. But the boy refused to let her wrist go. He turned and looked Raven right in the eyes. She could see her own nervous expression reflected in the boy's aviators.

"Don't. Ever. Touch. My. Glasses." The boy punctuated each word for emphasis. His voice was harsh and cold as his hand. Raven was about to use her powers to get the strange boy away from her when his grip suddenly relaxed. He released Raven's wrist and fell back onto the bed, unconscious. Raven hovered in the air for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened. It was then that the door slid open and the other four Titans walked into the room. Raven floated back as Robin and Cyborg immediately began to work on the boy, connecting him to machines and gadgets that would help bring him back to health. Starfire noticed Ravens unease and flew over next to her.

"Raven, are you, all right?" She asked as she placed a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"Yes." She replied, regaining her composure. "Yes I'm fine." Beast Boy slid over to Raven and nudged her in the side.

"Aw Raven was just upset cuz we interrupted her checking out beach boy, you know, shirtless and all." Chided Beast Boy. Raven was about to slap the stupid green grin off his face when Robin moved towards the boy's head.

"Hey Cyborg, take those glasses off so I can check his eyes for a concussion." Robin held up a small flashlight as Cyborg began to reach for the glasses.

"Don't touch his glasses!" The panic in Raven's voice startled the other Teens. Robin and Cyborg stopped what they were doing and looked over at Raven with questioning eyes. Something scared Raven? How? Raven wasn't scared of anything.

"Well why not?" Questioned Cyborg, as he looked down at the boy.

"Just, trust me on this one." Replied Raven, she hated being the center of attention. She quickly turned and teleported out of the room.

"What was that all about?" Asked Beast Boy.

"Dunno." Answered Robin as he put one last IV into the boy's arm and walked to the door. "But this guy needs rest, and plenty of it. Come on guys, let's go eat breakfast." Robin stood in the doorway as the other three Titans walked out of the room, eager to get back to their previously interrupted morning meal. He took one last look at the boy before following his friends. The light from the ceiling glinted off his glasses, a shudder ran down Robin's spine as he walked out of the room.


	2. Chapter 2

Jetstream awakened to the steady beeping of medical equipment. As he laid there, head throbbing and muscles aching, he tried to remember what had happened. He remembered flashes of light and deafening booms, but not much else. To his alarm, Jetstream realized he barely remembered anything at all. Try as he might, his memory went no further than basic information about himself, and even that was fuzzy. Jetstream lifted his head off the bed with a great effort and looked at his surroundings. He was in a large medical room of some sort. Different gadgets and pieces of equipment lined the walls, beeping quietly with many different sounds. Jetstream's eyes came to rest on what he thought at first was another odd looking piece of equipment to his right. As his vision adjusted to the darkness, he realized with surprise that it was a person, slouched over in a chair in deep sleep. He appeared to have at least half of his body covered in metal gear. Or at least, Jetstream hoped it was gear, and not his actual body parts. It was hard to tell, the metal connected so smoothly with the man's skin that he began to assume the latter.

A terrifying thought suddenly occurred to Jetstream. Was that why he was here? Was he going to be turned into a half robot? He didn't intend to stick around to find out. Jetstream sat up as quietly as he could, trying not to wake the machine man. His back and joints popped in several places in response to the sudden movement. He must have been laying there a while. As he sat up, Jetstream realized he was connected to several machines by IV's and suction cups. As he hurried to remove them he saw that he only had his jeans on. His hands quickly shot up to his face. Relief washed over him as he felt his glasses still on his face. Where were the rest of his clothes? He scanned the dark room again and saw his shirt, jacket, and shoes laid on a chair, right next to robot man. With slow and deliberate movements Jetstream swung his legs over the side of the bed and slid onto the ground. His heart skipped a beat as the bed creaked sharply from the sudden drop in weight. He froze, barefoot on the icy floor, waiting for the man to wake up. To Jetstream's great relief, the man continued to snore peacefully in his sleep. Jetstream quickly stole over to his clothes, his light steps barely making a noise on the tile floor. He quickly put on his undershirt and jacket, thankful for the familiar feel if the fabric. As he was tying his boots the robot man stirred in his sleep and caused Jetstream to freeze. He mumbled something about sharing pizza and fell back to snoring. Jetstream heaved a silent breath of relief and hurried towards the door. The cool metal automatically slid open to a dimly lit hallway. Jetstream quickly ran through the door, eager to get away from the sleeping robo-man.

Beast Boy rolled over in his bed as his stomach growled again. The green Titan had woken up twenty minutes ago with a hunger in his belly, and no matter what he tried he couldn't fall back asleep. He fluffed his pillow and buried his face in it, but it was no use. The gnawing in his stomach demanded to be fed. Beast Boy sat up grumbling to himself.

"Don't eat all the pizza Beast Boy, you gotta share at least half with me." He hopped out of bed and began to make his way towards the door, patting his stomach. "Cyborg knows half a pizza isn't enough food to last me all night. YOW!" Beast Boy did a little dance of pain after he banged his toe on something hard. He didn't know what it was, it was too dark to see, and knowing the mess in his room, it could have been anything. He squinted his eyes and stumbled around the junk in his room until he found the door. As it slid open a dim light fell into the room and illuminated the green boy's face. Beast Boy blinked a couple of times as his eyes adjusted and turned down the hallway towards the main room. As he walked he began to think about what his midnight snack should be. Maybe some leftover tofu, or a PB and J samdwich, or…ice cream? Ice cream sounded like a really good idea. As he was thinking about what toppings to put on Beast Boy rounded the corner of the hallway.

BAM! Beast Boy saw stars as he was knocked on his back by a surprised Jetstream. The black haired teen fell on top of the green morphling in a jumble of arms and legs. While Beast Boy was still trying to figure out what happened, Jetstream quickly untangled himself, checked that his glasses were still on, and took off down the hall. As Beast Boy sat up, head pounding, he watched the figure of the dark haired teen recede down the hallway. It took a few moments for his brain to catch up to his eyes. Suddenly Beast Boy jumped up and sprinted after Jetstream, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Help! Help! Beach dude is on the loose!" As the two teens ran down the hallway, two other doors slid open. Starfire floated out, rubbing one eye sleepily, just in time for Jetstream to sprint past. Her hair and pajamas were blown sideways by a great gust of wind as he ran by.

"What in the name of Glarbog!" She cried, trying to hold her hair down. Raven was next to poke her head out, but was thrown back by the wind as Jetsream ran/flew in front of her door. When Jetstream was nearing the end of the hallway a third door quickly fled open and a metal staff swung out, whacking Jetstream directly in the stomach. The dark haired teen was knocked on his backside with the wind knocked out of him. Robin stepped out of the room and blocked Jetstream's escape down the hall. In a moment he was flanked by a breathless Beast Boy, disheveled Starfire, and an annoyed Raven.

"You're…..not gonna…..operate on me." Gasped Jetstream as he struggled to his feet. Robin leveled his staff Jetstream's face.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Replyed Robin. "We were trying to help you."

"What do you mean 'operate on me'." Asked Beast Boy. As soon as he had asked, Cyborg came trotting down the hall.

"Hey guys, the beach boy is missi- Oh you found him." Said Cyborg as he stopped behind Beast Boy. Jetsream lifted a finger and pointed at Cyborg.

"You're…gonna..turn me…into one of him." He said, still a little breathless. There was a moment's silence, then a chorus of laughter erupted from the group. All the Titans, even Raven, started laughing at Jetsream's wild claim. "What?" he asked.

"Dude." Replied Beast Boy as he wiped a tear from his eye. "We're not gonna turn you into a cyborg."

"Then why was I hooked up to all that stuff." Demanded Jetstream, finally catching his breath.

"Because." Giggled Starfire. "You required the attention that is medical."

"Yeah man." Agreed Cyborg. "We found ya half dead this morning on the beach. You've been asleep all day." Jetstream turned as Robin placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on." He said. "Let's go to the main room and getcha something to eat. We'll swap some stories and maybe we can convince you we're not evil scientists." Jetstream felt his stomach growl and realized he was starving. He and the rest of the group followed Robin down the hall, eager to make sense of the whole situation.


	3. Chapter 3

The Teen Titans, along with Jetstream, sat around the large table in the main room of the titan's tower. After the Titans managed to convince Jetstream that they were not a group of mad scientists, he calmed down enough to relax with the group. It was about one in the morning and the teens sat around the table in various stages of dress after being shaken out of sleep by Jetstream's self-tour. Starfire and Raven were both still in their pajamas while Beast Boy was only wearing a pair of black shorts. Robin and Jetstream were the only two who were fully dressed, aside from Cyborg who didn't need clothes due to his robotic body. As Beast Boy helped himself to a bowl of ice cream, Robin set a plate of leftover, reheated waffles in front of Jetstream.

"Sorry about hitting you so hard, Jetstream." Said Robin as he sat down next to Cyborg. "When I heard Beast Boy yelling, I thought somebody had infiltrated the tower. Heh, I can get a little edgy when I'm up working late."

"Hey don't worry about man." Replied Jetstream through a mouthful of waffles. "And you guys can call me Jet, all my friends back home do."

"Oh ok." Said Starfire. "So where is home for you?" Jet paused mid chew and tilted his head to the side.

"I-I don't know." He stuttered as his brow furrowed. "I can't remember." There was an awkward pause and for a moment the only sound in the room was Beast Boy slurping his ice cream.

"What _do_ you remember?" Asked Robin curiously. Jet swallowed his mouthful of waffles and thought for a moment.

"Not much." He replied, eyes downcast. The room fell into another awkward silence.

"Aw, don't let it worry ya." Said Cyborg. "I'm sure it'll come back to you. I mean, you were nearly dead this morning, your brain probably just needs a little while to reboot.

"Yeah, yeah I guess you're right." Jet sighed as he started to eat his waffles again. "So what do you guys do?" He asked. "Like, you all just live in this tower together?"

"Nah dude." Laughed Beast Boy as he lifted his head out of his ice cream bowl. "We're the Teen Titans." He put his hand on his hips and puffed out his chest proudly. "The coolest group of superheroes in the whole world." He boasted as ice cream dripped off his chin.

"Superheroes?" Asked Jet. That sounded very familiar to him.

"Well, more like heroes in training." Explained Robin. "We look after Jump City and keep the criminals in check while we train to be better heroes." Jetstream's head suddenly perked up as he was hit by a sudden, very vivid, memory. He remembered himself flying, moving the air to keep himself afloat. The sea rolled below him and the wind whipped through his hair. He tried to concentrate on the visual. But as quickly as the memory had come upon him, it slipped away.

"What is wrong?" Asked Starfire. Jet snapped out of his daydream and looked around at the Titans.

"Powers." He said once to himself and then again to the group. "Powers. I have powers."

"Really?" Asked Cyborg with a raised eyebrow. "Like what?" Jet set down his fork and slid back from the table. He willed the air around himself to move and soon Jetstream was floating above the Titan's heads. Starfire rose from her seat and joined Jet in the air.

"Marvelous!" She said happily as she clapped her hands. "You do have the super powers."

"How do they work?" Asked Raven, looking up at Jet suspiciously.

"I can move air around however I want." Explained Jetstream. He ran a hand through his black hair and scratched his head. "I can't remember anything past that."

"What about your glasses?" She asked quickly. Jet's face darkened as he slowly floated back down to the ground.

"What _about _my glasses?" He responded in a serious tone. Robin saw what was happening and tried to but in.

"Raven, I don't think this is the time-" Robin was cut off by Raven standing up quickly and placing her hands on the table, leaning towards Jet.

"You freaked out on me when I got near your glasses!" She exclaimed as she pointed at Jetstream. "And there's something unnatural about them, I can tell." Jet's body language turned from jovial to downright sinister in an instant. He placed a hand on the table and slowly pointed the other at Raven, mirroring her stance.

"Listen to me, closely." He growled, light reflecting off of his wide lenses. "I like you guys, you seem like nice people so I'm going to tell you upfront. You never want to see what's under my glasses. It's maybe the one thing I remember _very_ clearly, and it is almost never a good thing when my glasses come off." Jetstream and Raven stood poised across the table from each other in a standoff. The tension in the air was palpable, and the other members sat around the table in an uncomfortable stillness. Beast Boy shrank back into his chair and Starfire slowly drifted down behind Cyborg, using him like a shield as she peered over his shoulder. Just as the silence was becoming too much to bear, an alarm cut through the air. Shocked out of their trance, the teens turned to the large monitor against the back wall as it lit up. A live feed from the security camera of the city bank flashed up on the screen. Smoke covered the majority of the building, but quickly dissipated into the air. The entrance to the bank had been blown open, and masked men with guns were quickly filing inside.

"Titans trouble!" Shouted Robin over the alarm. "Suit up and move out, on the double!" The Titans jumped from their seats and began to quickly move towards the door. Robin stopped as the others kept moving and turned back to Jet. "Jetstream, come on!" He yelled with a wave of his hand. Raven screeched to a halt and turned on Robin.

"He's coming with us?" She snapped.

"You want me to leave him here alone?" He retorted. Raven threw a dirty look at Jetstream and it seemed like she was going to say something else. But after a moment she turned and flew out the door with the other Titans. Jet began to jog after them, but was stopped as Robin placed a hand on his chest.

"I'm letting you come." He said, looking to the side. "But only because I don't trust you enough to leave you at our tower." Jet adjusted his glasses and nodded, he hadn't meant to come off so cold, but he had to get that message across. With that, the two boys ran out of the room, with the alarm ringing loudly in their ears.


	4. Chapter 4

The cool night air felt extremely refreshing to Jetsream as he flew over Jump City. His dark black hair whipped back over his head as he picked up speed. Starfire and Raven flew ahead of him, leading the way to the bank heist. They had changed out of their nightwear before departing and were now wearing their usual uniform. The city below was still and silent, like some sort of sleeping giant. Jet pushed the air around him harder and caught up to the two girls leading the way. Starfire's auburn hair streamed out behind her like fire, while Ravens dark cloak billowed in the wind and blended with the night sky.

"So who are these guys?" He shouted over the wind. "I mean, what do they want?" In response Raven cast an annoyed side glance at Jetsream and pulled ahead. Starfire looked apologetically at Jet and answered.

"They appeared to be mere bank robbers." She said. "Though I fear that, um, _he_ may be involved." Starfire looked ahead with worry in her eyes. "But I hope for Robins sake he is not." Jetstream was about to ask who _he_ was when Raven and Starfire suddenly took a steep dive. He quickly dropped along with them and soon saw the target location. The bank that had appeared on the monitor in the tower sat on the corner of the street below. The marble steps leading up to the white building were blackened and charred from the explosion. At the top of the stairs was a gaping hole where the doors should have been. Large black delivery trucks lined the street in front of the bank. Jet then noticed a blue and silver car racing along underneath them. As the three flyers dropped next to the trucks the car skidded to a stop and Robin, Beast Boy, and Cyborg got out joined them.

"Aaaaw yeah." Laughed Cyborg as he locked the car. "Can my T-Car move, or can it move?"

"Yeah dude." Replied Beast Boy as he tiredly rubbed his eye. "It can move."

"All right Titans." Said Robin as the group scaled the stairs. He pulled out a small device with a screen playing a live feed from inside the building. "We have multiple armed targets inside the building. There are no civilians still inside so all we have to focus on are the robbers." Robin stopped a few stairs short of the entrance and turned to the group. "The usual plan. Contain and capture, nothing lethal unless absolutely necessary."

"Dude, we know." Complained Beast Boy who was still cranky from hunger.

"I know." Replied Robin looking at Jetstream. He held his gaze for a moment then continued. "Just stay back and cover us, don't get yourself hurt."

"And don't do anything stupid." Added Raven with a glare. There was a moments silence, and Robin looked like he wanted to say more, but time was short so he turned and ran up the rest of the stairs.

"Titans go!" He shouted. The rest of the teens quickly followed their leader into the building. Jetstream stood outside the entrance for a moment, hesitant to join in the brawl. What if he did do something stupid? What if somebody got hurt because of him? Jet looked down at his hands and felt the wind swirl through his fingertips. Who was he anyway? Was he even a good person? Jet put a hand on his head as his mind lurched and a strong memory came upon him. Well, it really wasn't much of a memory, just something he remembered about himself. He remembered the warm feeling that he got when he helped others. The peace of mind that came with doing the right thing. And the utter rage of that he felt when evil people got away with crime. Jetstream was a vigilante, a hero, somebody who protected the innocent and the weak….and he intended to act like one. Jet straightened his jacket and adjusted his glasses as he walked to the entrance of the bank. Taking control of the air Jetstream propelled himself through the hole in the building to help his new friends. As he flew up to the ceiling the emergency lights in the ceiling cast a dim glow over the entire room. White marble columns lined the room in neat rows, occasionally broken by a set of desks or couches. Behind the desks near the back wall was a silver, circular safe door that stretched from the floor to nearly ten feet. A few of the masked burglars were fixing what looked to be another bomb to the door. Twenty or so other burglars were positioned periodically among the columns and desks. They were each armed with a large black gun and were firing at the approaching Titans. Red lasers shot out of the guns and left a blackened mark on the white floor as the Titans evaded the incoming fire. Jetstream watched as the team of teenage supers moved in perfect formation and spread out, sweeping towards the safe door. Robin took center and dispatched burglars left and right with his staff as he ran. Cyborg and Starfire moved forward on his left and right. Starfire shot green beams from her hands while Cyborg fired blue sonic waves from a cannon on his right arm. Raven and Beast Boy moved alongside opposite walls, flanking any burglars who were moving on the outside of the fight. Jetstream laughed as Beast Boy transformed into a velociraptor, causing several of the burglars to drop their guns and flee, only to run into the black and red whirlwind that was Robin. Raven cleaned up her side of the room by taking control of the burglar's guns and crushing them with a wave of her hand. In less than two minutes the group had subdued over four times their own number and were closing in on the group at the safe. By the time they realized they were surrounded, it was too late for the three burglars to react. Raven relieved them of their guns as she lifted her arm and Robin quickly knocked them out. As Starfire moved the bodies out of the way, Cyborg kneeled down next to the beeping cylinder that was attached to the door and began to fiddle with it.

"Can you disarm it?" Asked Robin as he examined one of the unconscious burglars.

"Course I can." Replied Cyborg, sparks flying from his hands as he worked. "Just give me one second and…..tada!" The silver cylinder stopped beeping and popped off the wall, into Cyborgs hands. "One disarmed burglar bomb, hot off the wall." He announced as he handed it to Robin. The boy wonder took hold of the bomb and turned it over in his hand. His face darkened as he looked on the underside of the tube. Starfire flew over next to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Robin, is it-"

"Slade." He snarled, cutting her off. "I should've known he was behind this." Robin ran his hand over the large S engraved on the bottom of the capsule.

"Who's Slade?" Jetstream asked as he landed next to the group. The nervous silence from the others made Jet unsure if he should have asked. After a moment Robin began to walk back towards the entrance.

"Nobody." He said over his shoulder. "Just a madman who needs to be stopped." As the other Titans began to follow Robin out, Beast Boy nudged jet in his side.

"Dude, for future reference, don't ask Robin about Slade. Guy's got kind of an obsession with catching him, and not the good kind." Jetstream decided to just drop the whole thing, he was on thin ice as it was.

"Let's go." Called Robin as he exited the bank. "The police will be here in a second to clean up, and we need to rest for tomorrow."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Yawned Beast Boy as the rest of the group filed out into the street. Cyborg, Robin, and Beast Boy walked towards the T car as Jetstream followed closely behind Starfire and Raven, who were prepping to takeoff. Just as the group was about to disperse, the top of the bomb slid open and projected a face onto the street. Or, a mask, to be more specific. It was half orange and half black, split down the middle. The orange side was smooth and had no opening of any kind, while the black side had a small rectangular opening for an eye. A sinister, taunting voice began to ring out from the bomb.

"Congratulations Robin. I believe that was a new record time."

"Slade! Where are you?!" Growled Robin, clenching his fist.

"Now, now Robin, control your temper. Stress at this late hour is unhealthy." Chided Slade's projection. "Our time to meet is fast approaching, but not yet. I have a few more tests for you."

"I will find you." Replied Robin darkly.

"Oh of that I have no doubt, Robin. And I wait with baited breath, farewell." Suddenly the projection cut off and the cylinder began to beep rapidly. A sharp yellow light flashed in unison with the beeping, illuminated the shock on Robin's face.

"It's live!" Yelled Cyborg. Jetstream moved faster than he knew he could, dashing towards Robin. He knocked the cylinder out of the masked teen's hand and into the air. Jet quickly threw up his hand as the bomb beeped and flashed faster. The cylinder launched like a rocket high into the air, propelled by a fierce gust of wind. No sooner had it cleared the rooftops of the buildings along the street did the bomb explode with a powerful force. The explosion sent red and orange flames streaking across the black night sky. A dark cloud of smoke floated away on the wind as the flames died out. The Titans and Jetstream stared up at the cloud as police sirens began to resonate through the streets.

"Slade." Mumbled Robin.


	5. Chapter 5

It was still dark out when the team finally arrived back at the tower. Robin had showed Jetstream to a guest bedroom as the other members returned to their own rooms. It was nothing fancy, a single bed with a cabinet against the wall. A window on the far side of the room looked out upon the twinkling Jump City. Not bothering to get undressed, Jet kicked off his boots and flopped down on the bed. He fell asleep almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. Jetstream quickly fell into a deep, restful sleep, and began to have a vivid dream. He was standing in a completely white room. It was a bright place, but Jet felt no need to squint his eyes. As he looked around he saw that the room was of average size, about as big as the bedroom he was staying in. He was alone in the room, and there was not a single piece of furniture, or even a door. Jetstream didn't know how long he stood there, gazing around the empty room. It could have been a few seconds, or maybe a few days. Suddenly Jetstream saw something start to form a few feet in front of him. It was fuzzy, and hard to distinguish, but Jet quickly realized that it was the silhouette of a boy. The outline of the teen glowed purple and buzzed like the static of a TV. He seemed to be holding a staff of some sort in his right hand. At the top of the staff's outline was a purple sphere that seemed to be producing the silhouette. The figure seemed to stabilize for a moment, and reached out his left hand towards Jetstream. Jet didn't know why, but he desperately wanted to grab the boy's hand, and make him stay. But try as he might, Jetstream could not move, or even budge, from his position. He realized with sadness that he was waking up and watched as the silhouette faded away, along with the white room. He awoke without a single recollection of the dream.

Robin stood hunched over a table in the main room. Papers and odd trinkets were scattered across the table as Robin poured over the information. He swiped up the remote to the monitor of the table and clicked on the screen. As he ran a hand over his tired face he played back several security videos from the night before. The videos displayed different parts of Jump City, all at about the same time. Robin had nearly traced the black trucks from the bank robbery back to their point of origin. Several of his cameras had been sabotaged, and he was having a wretched time of trying to sort through the mess. Eventually he clicked off the screen and sat down on the couch with a sigh. It would be impossible to pinpoint where the trucks came from with his current data. He was however, able to narrow it down to a several block radius. He pulled out his T phone and highlighted the designated area. Robin sighed, it was going to be a lot of ground to cover, and Slade could move out at any time. His train of thought was thrown off course as a familiar, purple gloved hand was laid on his shoulder. He hated being interrupted during his work, but of all his teammates, Robin tolerated Starfire's interruptions the best.

"Have you been up all night?" She asked softly. Robin dropped his eyes, refusing to look into the worried gaze of the Tamaranian. He hadn't even noticed the sunlight flittering through the windows of the main room. He would have cleaned up his research before the team awoke.

"Slade has to be caught, Star." Robin's voice was dry and rough from staying up all night. "I can't keep letting him terrorize this city."

"You are doing no one any of the favors by running yourself ragged." She replied as she flew over the couch and sat next to Robin. "You must rest." Starfire gently took Robin's hand. "Please."

"I can't" Said Robin quietly as he stood up. He briskly gathered his data off the table and began to walk back to his room. "Not while Slade still runs free." Starfire sighed as the doors slid closed behind the boy wonder. She rested her elbows on her knees and propped her chin on her hands. Why was he doing this? Why does he blame himself for Slade's actions? Starfire blew a strand of hair out of her face and sighed. Hopefully they would catch Slade soon, then Robin would rest. She was so lost in thought that Starfire didn't hear the door slide open on the right side of the room. It wasn't until Jetstream sat down across from her did she realize she wasn't alone.

"Oh!" She said as she sat up hastily. "Forgive me, I did not hear you come in." Jet had a look of concern on his face. Though it was impossible for Starfire to read his eyes behind his dark glasses, so it may have been indifference.

"What's wrong?" Asked Jetstream as he leaned forward. "You seem upset." Starfire was hesitant to voice her worries about Robin to Jetstream. She didn't think he was a bad person, but she didn't fully trust him yet. Especially after that incident with Raven and his glasses…Although. Starfire had been dying to vent some of her frustration to _somebody_ for a while now. Raven wasn't the type of person who like to talk and Beast and Cyborg normally stopped listening after her first two sentences. She bit her lip as she looked over at Jetstream, who looked genuinely interested in what she had to say. Jet was worried he may have overstepped his boundaries in questioning Starfire. Just as he was about to apologize and leave, Starfire turned to him quickly and took a short breath.

"It's Robin." She burst out, placing her hands on her knees. "He is wearing himself dangerously thin in his pursuit of Slade, and I fear he will not last much longer." Jetstream remained silent, indicating for her to continue. "He's barely slept in over a month and he eats very little, all while fighting the everyday criminals we see in this city." Ranted Starfire as brushed her hair behind her ears. "I've tried to get him to slow down and rest but he won't listen to me. He won't even allow us to contact our outside allies for help." Starfire sighed. "He has become completely obsessed with Slade." As she regained a bit of her composure, Starfire looked up at Jetsream and winced inwardly. He had been patiently listening to her every word and was nodding his head sympathetically. While finally having somebody to talk to had felt great, Starfire feared she had said too much. Jet seemed to notice her sudden hesitancy and looked at her questioningly. "I am sorry." She said. "It is just that Robin would not like me telling you all this."

"Don't worry yourself too much about it." Replied Jet as he sat back on the couch. "I can't exactly judge Robin for chasing this guy so, fiercely." Jet looked to his side and a hilf grin played across his face. "I know what it's like to go chasing down your demons." He said, half to himself, half to Starfire.

"Did, did you remember something about your past?" Asked Starfire. Jet frowned as he looked back up.

"It's coming back in bits and pieces." Replied Jetstream. He stood up and began to pace in front of the TV screen. "It's the most infuriating thing. I get to points where I feel like I am so close to remembering everything, all at once." Jet stopped and ran a hand through his black hair. "But then it just, slips away, right out of reach."

"You will remember." Comforted Starfire. "It will just take some time, like Cyborg said."

"Yeah. Yeah I guess you're right." Jetstream and Starfire both turned as the doors on the back wall slid open and the other Titans began to file into the main room.

"Aaaahhhh. Mornin' everybody." Yawned Beast Boy as he walked over to the kitchen.

"Anybody up for some waffles?" Asked Cyborg, following Beast Boy.

"Waffles again?" Groaned Raven. "We had those last time." Raven floated over to the couch and sat down in her usual place, eyeing Jetstream and Starfire suspiciously.

"I'll help ya make them." Offered Jetstream, trying to avoid questioning by Raven. Beast Boy grabbed a bowl out of the cabinet as Jet walked over.

"Yeah Ray, anytime is waffle time." Chided Beast Boy.

"Yo beach boy, slide me that waffle mix." Said Cyborg as he grabbed the milk out of the fridge.

"Sure thing." Replied Jetstream as he opened the cabinet. He paused as he looked at the row of boxes. "Uuuhh, which one is it?" He asked. Starfire and Raven looked over at Jet from the couch. Cyborg and Beast Boy exchanged a questioning glance.

"Uh, the one that says 'Waffle Mix' bro." Said Beast Boy sarcastically. The longer Jet stood in front of the open cabinet, the more the Titans stared at him.

"Do you need some help?" Questioned Raven.

"No, I just-"

"Can you read?" Asked Beast Boy.

"Yes, well no, I mean I used to be-"

"Is the mix in there?" Asked Cyborg.

"Well, I think so but-"

"Then why do you not grab it?" Questioned Starfire.

"Because!" Yelled Jetstream as he slammed the cabinet shut. He turned on the Titans and pointed to his glasses. "I'm blind!"


	6. Chapter 6

Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire all froze and stared at Jetstream, who was looking at the ground and running a hand through his black hair. Blind? How could he be blind? He had been doing things with them that no blind person would have been able to do.

"Wh-what?" Asked Beast Boy, breaking the awkward silence.

"I said- I said I'm blind." Replied Jet as he adjusted his glasses. "I can't see."

"That's not possible." Insisted Raven.

"Yeah man." Agreed Cyborg. "You went on a mission with us, you've been making direct eye contact with us, and you even knocked a bomb away from Robin and shot it into the air. So how exactly could you be blind?" Asked the half robot.

"Well, I mean, I can see a little. I can tell differences in light, but other than that I'm blind as a bat." Jetstream explained.

"But, but, how do you get around so well?" Asked Beast Boy. "I never would have been able to tell if you hadn't told me."

"Yeah, that was the idea." Mumbled Jet under his breath.

"What?" Questioned Raven, eyeing Jet darkly.

"I mean, I've gotten real good at using my powers to feel my way around." Replied Jetstream quickly. "I can detect objects that disturb the flow of air around me. I can actually 'see' solid things about as well as the next guy." Jetstream sighed and kicked the cabinet with the back of his heal. "Doesn't help much with reading and stuff though."

"Why did you not tell us before?" Asked Starfire with a concerned look on her face.

"It's a, uh, sensitive subject." Replied Jetstream, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Is that why you freaked out on me?" Raven floated off the couch and over to the table. "Because you're embarrassed of being blind?" The other three Titans winced and slowly looked over to Jet. They weren't eager for a repeat of this conversation. A flurry of air swirled around Jetstream's hair as his face darkened into a snarl. He floated up on a gust of wind and moved to the table, across from Raven.

"Listen here, bird girl." He said, pointing at Raven. "What happened to my eyes, and what's under these glasses, are two things only one other person on this planet knows. And I choose to keep those two things a secret because they can be disastrous to other people."

"You are standing in a room with an alien, a cyborg, a morphling, and the daughter of a demon. What could you possibly be hiding that is so bizarre and dangerous, that you think we won't be able to handle it?" Demanded Raven. Jetstream's shoulders slouched and his snarl faded to a look of sadness.

"I'm sorry." He said. "But it's too risky." There was a moment's pause, then Raven spoke up.

"Well if your eyes are so dangerous." She said, crossing her arms. "I don't think you should stay here any longer."

"That's enough!" Robin strode into the room from the back doorway, glaring at the two arguing teens.

"Robin, he's being absur-."

"I said that's enough!" Robin cut in. "You of all people should understand having reluctance to show your powers, Raven." Raven opened her mouth to protest, but Robin continued. "If I remember correctly, you didn't always have complete control of your own abilities." A flash of anger crossed Raven's face, and Jet thought she was going to continue to argue. But after a moment the anger was replaced with a look of, was that guilt? Raven then pulled the hood of her cloak up and took a step back, gazing at the ground. "As for you." Said Robin as he turned on Jetstream. "I can tolerate a bit of inexperience in dealing with your power, we've all been there, but I need to know." Robin indicated with his arm to the group. "Is it going to put my friends in danger?" Jet found it difficult to meet the masked boy's gaze.

"I can keep it under control." He replied, running a hand through his hair. "So long as my glasses stay on." Robin nodded and pulled his T-phone off of his utility belt.

"Good, now that that's out of the way, we have work to do. We're splitting up today and going on patrol. I've narrowed down Slade's location in the city to a radius of a few miles. Cyborg and Starfire will search the left third, Raven and Beast Boy will take the right, and you." Said Robin, pointed to Jetstream. "You will be with me in the middle. I've sent the coordinates to your phones already, we leave in five. Any questions?" The teens, Raven included, shook their heads no. Robin could be quite intimidating when he got like this. "Good, today we catch Slade."

Starfire's auburn hair streamed out behind her as she flew over the designated area of jump city. It turned out to be the old abandoned East District on the outskirts of town. Shortly after Robin had ended the argument between Jetstream and Raven, the team had departed to their section of the area to search for Slade. Robin had seemed more wound up than ever, and Starfire was searching desperately for any sign of the masked man in the decrepit streets. Robin would not last much longer like this. Sooner or later he was going to give out. As she scanned the buildings below her, Starfire's communicator began to ring. Pulling the circular yellow device off her belt, she flipped it open with one hand. Cyborgs face appeared on the screen, he was trailing her on the streets below in the T-car.

"Yo Star." He said. "See anything yet?" Starfire continued to gaze at the buildings as she responded.

"I am afraid not." She sighed. "Though I desperately wish there was something for me to see. If we do not locate Slade soon…Robin."

"Hey." Cyborg cut in. "We'll find him." He reassured her. "And if we don't find anything today, I'll just knock Robin out when we get home. Make him get some sleep." Despite herself, Starfire smiled.

"Ha, thank you Cyborg." Cyborg nodded and chuckled as Starfire closed the communicator and returned her full focus to the streets below. Where was Slade?

Meanwhile, on the right side of the designated quadrant, Beast Boy and Raven were searching together on the ground. Beast Boy sniffed along the trash filled streets in the form of a blood hound. Robin had given him a stitch of clothing that tore off of Slade in their last confrontation. It wasn't much, and the smell was faint, but Beast Boy was tracking it as well as he could. He lifted his head and looked back at Raven. The girl hadn't taken her hood off or said a single word the entire search. As she floated slowly behind the green dog she lifted her head and met Beast Boy's gaze with a dark look. The morphling quickly dropped his head back down and hurried along the street. Normally he would have been making jokes or messing with Raven while they searched. But even he could see how upset she was, trying something funny right now would be extremely dangerous. Beast Boy turned the corner of the street, following his nose. If they found Slade then maybe Robin wouldn't be so cranky, Raven would cheer up, and things could go back to normal. Well, as normal as things could be for a group of super powered teens. As his nosed brushed past a pair of broken sunglasses, Beast Boy's thoughts wandered to Jetstream. He didn't dare tell anybody, but it was killing him not knowing what was under the dude's glasses. He had been curious ever since Raven first confronted the dude about it, but know he was dying to know. Like, a secret that was dangerous, mysterious, and could cause high levels of chaos to anyone involved? Yeah, that was something a guy like him really wanted to get in on. Maybe if Beast Boy just asked the dude in private. Maybe Jet was just shy in groups or something. Beast Boy took a left as the scent became slightly stronger. One thing was for sure though, so long as Slade was on the loose, everybody was going to be high strung. Robin would probably even make the team skip movie night tomorrow if they didn't find him. He sighed as he continued down the empty streets. Where was Slade?

As Jetstream soared over the middle section of the abandoned East District, the rumble of Robin's motorcycle rebounded off the old buildings below and bounced into his ears. Jet was having trouble keeping up with the boy wonder's erratic and fast paced search. Robin was roaring up and down the abandoned streets at a breakneck pace, trying to locate any sign of Slade or his cronies. He was beginning to get frustrated as they neared the end of their designated area. If they didn't find anything today, Robin would be out of leads and have to wait for Slade to attack again. He passes building after worn down building, with no sign of any activity. Robin huffed in anger and banged the motorcycles handlebars with his fist. Where was Slade? Just as the teen was about to turn around to sweep the area again, he noticed something up ahead, poking out of one of the buildings. His stomach began to flutter as he neared the obstruction. Was it? Could it be? Yes, it was! The back end of one of the black trucks from the bank robbery stuck out onto the street from an old warehouse. As Robin skidded to a halt and dismounted from his bike he flipped open his communicator and messaged the rest of the team.

"Titans!" He yelled. "I've found something, converge on my position asap." Jetstream had just enough time to land before Robin sprinted into the open garage of the warehouse. The black haired boy quickly followed Robin as he disappeared into the shadows. The inside of the warehouse was dimly lit, and smelled like plaster and paint. It held only one large, expansive room that was filled with row upon row of floor to ceiling shelves. The shelves were lined with various mechanical pieces and blinking machinery. The place appeared to be empty as the two teens crept through the aisles of shelves. Suddenly Robin placed a hand on Jetstream's chest and pointed ahead. As Jet followed his gaze he saw an open space that was much more well lit than the rest of the warehouse. There were maybe fifteen or twenty of the same cronies from the bank bustling around and messing with the equipment that lined the shelves. In the center of the clearing was a silver table with some papers on it. The only distinguishable man of the entire entourage was bent over the table, pouring over the papers and directing the other cronies. He had brown hair and round wire glasses on his small, mouse like face. The man was dressed like a college professor, not a criminal thug.

"Is that…?" Whispered Jetstream.

"Not Slade." Replied Robin. "I don't think he's here. But I bet he can tell us where he is." Robin pointed to the mouse face man. Before Jetstream could respond, Robin pulled out and expanded his staff as he sprinted into the clearing. Jet again had trouble keeping up with the masked teen as he began to lay the cronies low left and right with his staff. Robin had dispatched half of the masked men before they even knew what was happening. As the professor man looked up in alarm at the commotion, he jumped back from his desk and ordered the rest of his men to attack. In a moment, Robin was surrounded by the gun wielding goons, with no way out. Just as the professor man was about to give the order to fire, Jetstream dropped from the air next to Robin and sent out a powerful wave of air. The goons were sent flying in all directions, landing with a crash among the shelves of equipment. The man began to back away from the two teens with a worried look on his face, Robin was about to rush the man when he pulled a pistol from behind his back and pointed it at the duo.

"You must be Robin." He said, backing away. "I must say I'm impressed you found our little bomb making facility."

"Where's Slade?" Demanded Robin. Jetstream thought the teen was about to do something foolish. But then he saw Robin reach slowly to his belt and press a button on his communicator. "You can either tell me now, and I turn you over to the police. Or I take you with me and, convince you to talk. Then I turn you over to the police." The man continued to back away as he smirked at Robin.

"I'll think I'll take option C. Running away and not going to jail." Robin sniffed and shook his head.

"Wrong answer." He mumbled. Jetstream turned his head as a low rumble began to shake through the warehouse. The man froze, pistol in hand, as he listened to the noise. It gradually began to grow in volume and pitch as it approached the warehouse. Robin grabbed Jetstream and pulled him away from the man as the wall behind him exploded. The T-car burst through the wall in a shower of rubble and mechanical equipment.

"Booyah!" Shouted Cyborg as the silver and blue car skidded to a halt and sent the table in the middle of the clearing flying. Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire quickly filed in through the gaping hole in the wall and surrounded the professor man, who was now trapped under a pile of brick and metal. As the man groaned in pain, Robin slowly walked up to him and pulled him to his feet. He held the man an inch from his own face and glared at him.

"Where is Slade?"


	7. Chapter 7

As Jetstream stared through the one way window of the interrogation room, he couldn't help but fell a bit pity for the mouse faced man Robin was questioning. The boy wonder had the man, who was apparently known as Dr. Lee, handcuffed to the table as he interrogated him relentlessly. This had been going on for at least two hours now and Robin showed no signs of stopping. As Robin paced around the small room his mouth moved at a rapid pace. The words were lost to Jetstream through the soundproof glass and door, but he could tell Robin was rather unhappy. Jet turned as the door slid open behind him and Starfire floated into the room. The auburn haired girl settled next to Jet and placed a hand on the glass. She sighed solemnly as she saw that Robin was not making any progress.

"Has he even come out yet?" She asked Jetstream, not taking her eyes off of Robin. Jet crossed his arms and shook his head.

"Nu-uh." He replied. "Nobody has been in or out since we got back." He looked over at Starfire and felt a pang of sadness in his heart. He may be blind, but even he could see the pain that Starfire was feeling, watching Robin in such a distressed state. A twing of guilt ran through Jetsream as he looked back into the interrogation room. He was certain Robin would be able to squeeze the information he needed out of Dr. Lee. But it seemed the doctor had a far stronger will than he had thought. Jetstream did have one surefire way to get the guy to talk, but he _really _did not want to have to do it.

"Hey Starfire?" Said Jet.

"Hm?"

"How long do you think Robin will last, pursuing Slade the way he is?" Starfire sniffed and frowned.

"If it were any other person, I would say they wouldn't last more than a week." Replied Starfire, pausing for a moment.

"But?" Inquired Jetstream.

"But, I feel as though Robin could continue like this for the rest of his life. That is, until it drove him mad….or worse." Jetstream didn't think it was possible, but Starfire managed to look even more miserable than before. The guilt in his stomach began to sink like a lead balloon.

"If you knew where Slade was, do you think your team could catch him? Asked Jetstream. Starfire nodded her head slowly as she responded.

"Slade is a ruthless and cunning adversary, but Robin is a strong and courageous leader. I believe if we knew his true location, we could have him behind bars in a day."

"Alright." Sighed Jetstream, a look of resolution on his face. "If you can get Robin out of here for a few minutes, I can get you whatever information that guy has." Starfire's head popped up, a look of surprise on her face.

"Do you really think you can do it?" She asked, more than a little hopeful.

"Trust me." Said Jetstream, his face grim. "I can get him to talk." Starfire was about to ask what Jetstream meant, but as she looked at the dark haired boy's face, she decided just to trust him. A shiver went up her spine as she walked around him and opened the door to the interrogation room. As soon as she did, Robin's voice filled the entire waiting room as he shouted at the doctor. He was so focused on his rant that he didn't realize Starfire was in the room until she placed a hand on his shoulder. Robin jumped at the unexpected contact, but quickly regained himself and frowned a t Starfire.

"Star, what are you doing?" He asked in an irritated voice. "I said no one needs to come in here while I-." Starfire cut him off in a forceful voice.

"This has been going on for over two hours." She stated. "You have not eaten anything all day and it nearly past the three of the clock. You need to rest."

"I'm not going to leave him alone." Insisted Robin.

"I'll watch him." Offered Jetstream for the doorway. "You can trust me."

"But." Robin started.

"No. Rest. Now." Insisted Starfire as she pushed Robin out the door. The girl's super strength was no use fighting against, and Robin did feel extremely hungry, though he would never admit it.

"Fine then." He resigned as he walked out of the waiting room with Starfire close on his heels. "I'll be back in ten."

"Twenty!" Interrupted Starfire.

"Twenty minutes Jet." With that the two teens disappeared behind the sliding doors and into the hallway. Jetstream sighed as he was left alone with the doctor. He really hated what he was about to do. He watched the clock on the wall as it ticked away. When ten minutes had passed, Jet sat down across the table from Dr. Lee. But if it would help the people who had so willingly helped him, and maybe earn him a bit more trust, Jet would do it. Jetstream let out a long breath as he looked up at the doctor, who had a smug look on his face.

"So what are you?" Dr. Lee asked. "Round two or something. I already told your buddy that I'm not talking, and if you think that you can-."

"I'm really sorry about this." Said Jetstream, cutting him off.

"What?" Asked Dr. Lee, as Jet lifted a hand to his face.

The elevator ride up to the main room was a bit awkward at first. Starfire hadn't meant to be so blunt with Robin, but she felt it was the only way to get him out of that room. The two teens stood next to each other as the elevator toned with each floor they passed. At the second tone Robin broke the silence as he turned to Starfire.

"Listen, Starfire." He said as he rubbed the back of his head. "I know I've been acting pretty, short, with you and the rest of team, and I wanted to say I'm sorry."

"It is okay Robin." She replied as the elevator toned a third time. "We all know you have been under a lot of stress lately, but I-we are just worried about you." Said Starfire, blushing slightly. Robin smiled and nodded.

"I'll try to take it easier." He said as the elevator toned a fourth time and the doors slid open. The two teens walked into the main room as the doors closed behind them.

"Now how about some food?" Asked Starfire happily, floating over to the kitchen.

"Sounds great." Replied Robin. Beast Boy and Cyborg paused the video game they were playing and turned to Robin.

"Yo Robin, good to see ya out." Laughed Cyborg.

"Yeah man, we didn't think you'd ever leave that guy alone." Chimed Beast Boy.

"Ha, thanks guys." Said Robin as he sat down at the kitchen table. Starfire brought him a plate of lunch leftovers, then flew over to the couch and sat next to Raven. As Cyborg and Beast Boy turned back to their game, Raven lowered he book and looked at Starfire.

"So how's our little captive doing?" She mumbled. Starfire sighed.

"He has still not given up the information, despite Robin's best efforts." She replied.

"Don't worry." Said Raven as she returned to her book. "I'm sure Robin can get it out of him one way or another." Starfire didn't respond and absentmindedly fiddled with her hair. Her nervous silence made Raven a bit suspicious, but she decided to ignore it, the girl was just as strung out as Robin was lately. After a few minutes Robin joined the rest of the teens on the sofa and watched Beast Boy and Cyborg play their game. For a moment, Starfire thought that they were going to have a normal, relaxing afternoon. That was, until a bloodcurdling scream ripped through the calm atmosphere and made everyone's hairs stand on end. It was the most horrible noise any of them had ever heard. The scream was nothing but pure terror and panic, and it made you want to cover your ears and curl into a ball. Which is exactly what Beast Boy did…..in the form of an armadillo. After a moment, the scream faded away and Robin began to head for the elevator door, followed by the rest of the team.

"What was that?" Asked Cyborg, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"That was a scream that just filled the entire room from four floors below us." Answered Robin as they filed into the elevator.

"But whose was it?" Asked Raven.

"We're about to find out."

When the door to the interrogation room opened up, Jetstream was already standing right in front of the entrance, like he had been expecting them. His shoulders were slouched and his face was ragged. His skin looked unnaturally pale and he appeared to be exhausted, like he hadn't slept in a long time. Jetstream's usually slicked back hair now fell in strands over his face. Before Robin could get a question in, he pushed past the boy wonder and into the hallway.

"Ask him anything you want." Croaked Jet as he slid by. "I need to be alone for a moment." The rest of the teens moved out of the way as Jet stumbled down the hallway and into the elevator. Robin glanced back for a moment, then turned his attention back to the room. A quiet sobbing could be heard from the open door of the second half of the room. As Robin and the rest of the Titans quickly moved to check on Dr. Lee, a strange sight greeted their eyes. The strong willed doctor that Robin had spent the last two hours trying to break, was lying in the fetal position, crying. One of his arms was still handcuffed to the table, though there were red marks and scratches on his wrist from where he had fought against his restraints. The other arm was wrapped tightly around his chest, like a child trying to protect himself. The man's glasses were askew and his hair stood out in several places at odd angles. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy from crying and darted around in panic as he quivered on the ground. He seemed to be mumbling something rapidly to himself, but Robin couldn't make out what he was saying. The doctor jumped as Robin knelt down and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I-I'll t-tell you a-anything." Stuttered Dr. Lee, refusing to meet Robin's eyes. "Just d-don't make h-him do it a-again."

"What happened?" Asked Robin. Dr. Lee jerked his head from side to side and looked around like he didn't want something to hear him. He then shakily leaned in towards Robin and whispered.

"He t-took off h-his glasses."


	8. Chapter 8

While Robin stayed with Dr. Lee, the other Titians began to search the tower for Jetstream. They turned the entire building inside out, but Jet was nowhere to be found. After Robin got all the information he could from Dr. Lee he arranged for the police to come and pick him up and helped with the search. The sun was setting over the horizon by the time the police arrived and took the babbling doctor into custody. The Titans still had not located Jetstream, even after searching the entire building. They sat around in the main room, tired after their attempts to locate Jet. Robin was drawing up plans on the table with the new info he had on Slade. Beast Boy and Cyborg chatted quietly on the couch while Starfire paced back and forth in the kitchen. She was feeling very guilty about Jetstream. If he had hurt himself in some way during the interrogation, it was her fault. What if he had run away? What if they never saw him again? Oh it was almost too much to bear. Meanwhile, Raven sat across from Beast Boy and Cyborg on the couch. She had her eyes closed and was trying to see if she could sense Jetstream. As much as she didn't like or trust the dark haired boy, he did manage to crack the doctor. And if the team thought they needed him, she would help. Also, there was something about the way Dr. Lee had looked after Jet had interrogated him that intrigued Raven. It was the way his eyes darted around in fear and how he shook at the slightest contact. It was an unnatural type of fear, one a person could only feel after experiencing something truly dark. She grimaced as her concentration was broken by Beast Boy and Cyborg's conversation.

"Agh!" Exclaimed Beast Boy. "The one time the dude takes off his glasses, and I miss it!" The green morphling flopped on his back and ran his hand over his face. "It is _killing_ me not knowing what's under those things." Cyborg shook his head chuckled.

"I hear ya Beastie." He said. "I gotta say I'm pretty curious too, but did you see what it did to that doctor dude? Whatever's under those things, it must be pretty intense." Raven sighed and got up from the couch, she wasn't going to be able to focus in here. She needed a quiet place, somewhere without a lot of noise where she could be alone. And she knew exactly where to go. None of the other Titians took much notice of Raven as she opened up a black portal and disappeared into it. When she came out on the other she was in one of her favorite quiet places. The roof.

Raven sighed contently as the quietness of the top of the tower surrounded her. No matter what was going on in the tower, the roof was always a place where she could be alone and gather her thoughts. The flat, sliver metal shone a multitude of colors as it reflected the setting sun in the distance. A peaceful warmth rose off of the metal and heated Raven's face as she lowered her hood. She faced the sun and took a few deep breaths with her eyes closed. As she let the calm atmosphere sink in, Raven opened her eyes and realized with a start that she was not alone. A figure, outlined by the red tint of the sunset, was sitting on the edge of the roof, not twenty feet in front of her. As Raven floated closer to the silhouette, she saw that it was Jetstream. The dark haired boy had his brown jacket wrapped tightly around him as he hunched over the side of the roof, with his legs dangling off the edge. Raven was more than a little irritated that Jetstream was in her favorite quiet place. But she was relieved to see that he hadn't run away, the others would be happy. Jet didn't seem to realize that he had company as Raven settled behind him. But just as she was about to say something, the teen spoke up.

"I'm sorry." He said. His voice sounded like it had returned to normal, and as he turned his head to the side, Raven saw that most of the color had returned to his face. He gave Raven a small half grin as she stood behind him in confusion. His black glasses shone brightly as he looked back at her.

"Sorry?" She asked.

"Yeah." He replied. "Sorry that I took your thinkin' spot." Raven narrowed her eyes at Jet as turned back to the sunset.

"How did you know that I-"

"Oh come on." He interrupted. "We both know you didn't come up here to look for me, and your body language is rather, stressed." Jet laughed, then sighed. "Also, I'm sorry for being so short with you." Raven was surprised at the sudden sadness in his voice. "I shouldn't have gotten so angry at you for wanting to see under my glasses, and I'm sorry." Raven could tell that Jet was being sincere and felt bad for him. That confused her. Why was she pitying Jetstream? Suddenly Raven remembered the way he had stumbled weakly out of the interrogation room. How pale he was and how his voice wavered and cracked. It then occurred to Raven that Dr. Lee's voice earlier had been perfectly fine, even if he was stuttering. So that meant that the ear-shredding scream had to have come from…. Raven took another look at Jet and saw that he was exhausted. And even though he looked much better than he did earlier, she could tell he was still pretty shaken up.

"I think I get it." She said as she sat down next to him, crossing her legs. Jetstream gave her a questioning look. "You weren't trying to hide something from us by keeping your glasses on, you were trying to protect us, and yourself." Jetstream nodded in agreement. "We, or at least I, thought you were being arrogant, thinking you were too strong for any of us to handle." Jet ran a hand through his hair sheepishly as she continued. "But you weren't." Jet frowned and looked like he was going to say something, but Raven cut him off. "You're just scared because you don't have control of what's under there." Said Raven, indicating to his glasses. Jetstream looked like he was going to protest for a moment, but then his head dropped and he sighed.

"You're right." He said. "I don't have much control over it once it gets out." The hopelessness in his voice sounded very familiar to Raven. "That's why I made sure it was just me and Dr. Lee before I let it out, I didn't want to hurt any of you. You're all good people."

"Why don't you let us help you?" She asked. "Why do you close us all out?" Even as the words left her mouth, Raven knew the answer. Jet ran a hand over his face and shook his head.

"I've hurt people before, Raven. People I care about, I didn't want that to happen again here."

"If it's so hard to live with, why don't you get rid of it, take it out?" Raven realized how ridiculous that must have sounded after she said it. But Jet didn't get mad or laugh, he just seemed to get even sadder.

"You don't think I've tried? You don't think that I've been to every doctor I could reach to find a cure, or at least a way to control it? As soon as anybody takes one look at what's in here," Jet put a hand on his glasses. "they can't stand to be around me anymore." Raven began to feel a strong sense of empathy as Jet continued to talk. "You saw what it did to that doctor, and he was one of the stronger ones. When people see what I really am and they run screaming in the other direction. That is, the ones that aren't paralyzed in fear." Jetstream pounded his fist on the side of the building in frustration. As he did, a harsh wind began to swirl around him. "There is only one person on this planet who has seen under my glasses and been able to still talk to me afterwards. And the part of my memory that remembers where he is has gone blank!" Raven had to grip the side of the roof to keep from being blown away. Powers in direct link with his emotions. Yeah, Raven was getting a strong feeling of déjà vu. "I'm a monster." Mumbled Jet as the wind began to die down.

"No you're not!" Yelled Raven in a sudden wave of anger. Jetstream looked up at the purple haired girl in surprise. Raven wasn't exactly sure why she was angry, but she felt like she had had this conversation before, just from the other side. "You're not a monster." She restated as the anger subsided.

"But my powers-"

"Don't define who you are, Jetstream." Interrupted Raven. "It's what you do with them, how you use them, that matters. You did a good thing with Dr. Lee today, the information that he gave us will lead us to Slade." Raven didn't know where the words were coming from, she wasn't normally one to give advice, but they felt right. Jet looked at her with his mouth slightly open for a moment, then laughed under his breath.

"You know, you sounded a lot like him just then."

"Who?" Asked Raven.

"My friend, Chief." Jetstream smiled and looked back over at the sunset, the sun was nearly completely eclipsed by the horizon. "He's a good guy, he helps people like me. Maybe one day you'll meet him." After a few moments of silence Jetstream stood up and stretched his arms out, sighing contently. He turned to Raven and smiled, the last rays of sunlight reflected in his glasses.

"Thanks Raven for, everything." Raven didn't know what to say, the words that came so easily a moment ago were gone, along with the sun. She smiled back and nodded as Jet leaned over the edge of the tower.

"Hope my window didn't swing shut in the wind." He said as he hopped out into the air. Raven laughed to herself as Jet flew back to his room and closed her eyes as she began to meditate.

Later that night, as Jetstream slept uneasily in the guest room, he began to dream again. He was back in the white room, and this time, the purple silhouette was waiting for him. It was much more distinct this time, stronger, it seemed. The figure once again reached out its one hand towards Jet, while the other clung tightly to the purple outline of a staff with a ball on top. The ball shone more brightly than the time before as it emitted the purple energy.

"Chief." Muttered Jet excitedly as he began to move towards the figure. The outline of the teen pulsed in reaction to Jet's words and reached farther toward him. Jetstream's fingers were mere inches from the figure when he felt himself begin to wake up. He cried out in despair as the room and figure faded away to black as Jet began to regain consciousness. Once again, he awoke with no memory of the dream.


	9. Chapter 9

"Jetstream. Hey Jet, wake up."

Beast Boy reached over and shook Jetstream on the shoulder, rousing him from his sleep. A small amount of light flittered in through the blinds of the room, reflecting off of Jet's glasses. They were a bit askew on his face, and Beast Boy could almost see underneath them. However, as soon as he gained his bearings, Jetstream adjusted his glasses, hiding whatever was underneath.

Dang, thought Beast Boy; that was the only reason he'd volunteered to wake Jet up. Slightly annoyed, Beast Boy walked back to the door and turned towards Jetstream.

"Come on," he said as Jet sat up, yawning loudly, "Robin's got a mission planed..."

Beast Boy stopped as Jetstream got out of bed and stood up, facing away from the morphling. Jet had been sleeping in just his pants and as he turned his back to Beast Boy, he got a full view of his tattoo.

"Duuuude," marveled Beast Boy, "That is one sick tattoo. I mean, I thought they were actual wings for a second."

Jetstream laughed under his breath, as he grabbed his clothes and started getting dressed.

"Thanks; everyone on the team gets a hyper-realistic tattoo when they become a full member," he said as he slid his black shirt over his head, "Sort of like an initiation."

Beast Boy nodded his head and crossed his arms.

"That's so cool; I wish we did something like..." Beast Boy paused as he realized what Jetstream had said, "Wait a second, what team?"

Jetstream's head popped up, and it seemed to Beast Boy that he was thinking very hard.

"My team," replied Jet, his brow furrowed in concentration under his glasses, "I'm part of a team, with Chief. But…"

Jetstream stared hard out into space for a few seconds, then sighed in frustration, "It's gone, I can't remember anything else."

The disappointment on Jetstream's face was clear. Beast Boy, not really following Jet at all, nodded his head in confusion and backed out the door.

"Well, I'm sure you'll remember more after breakfast, come on."

* * *

Jetstream was quiet throughout most of breakfast, as he strained his brain for even the slightest bit of information. Try as he might though, it seemed his memory would not be returning simply through meditation.

Breakfast flew by as Jet methodically ate away at a bowl of cereal, but he barely tasted any of it. Soon he joined the rest of the Titans around the couch as Robin began to pull up plans on the monitor. Jetstream, even in his distracted state, noticed that Robin looked like he had finally gotten some rest, maybe even a full night's sleep. The masked teen moved about with an air of excitement, covered by a serious demeanor as he began to speak.

"Ok team, we finally have a pinpoint on Slade's location."

Robin pulled up a video feed of an island off the northern coast of Jump City. It was a small island, not much larger than the one Titans Tower was on. Large, rusted buildings and mechanical equipment were scattered over the shore and mainland. In the center of the island was a large industrial building that rose into the blue sky like a gnarled hand, clawing its way out of the ground.

"The abandoned oil refinery?" asked Cyborg, "I thought we cleared that place out a while ago; nothing was there."

"We did," replied Robin as he pulled up a diagram of the facility, "but Dr. Lee has informed me that Slade has a secret lair hidden under the main rig."

The diagram zoomed in underneath the island and plotted out a series of underground tunnels and chambers.

"I ran a sonar scan over the island yesterday, and found that he wasn't lying. So today, we move in and take out Slade."

"Do you think we will require the assistance of our allies?" asked Starfire, thinking about how formidable an opponent Slade was.

Robin shook his head as he fiddled with the controls of the monitor, "Slade won't have more than a handful of men at the island. Too much activity would arouse suspicion, so we should be able to handle it on our own."

Robin closed down the monitor and turned to the team, "Besides; we need to get in quickly, quietly, and efficiently. Too many people could overcomplicate the mission, and we haven't worked with the Titans East enough to operate effectively."

Jetstream was about to ask who the Titans East were, but decided to let it go as Robin continued his instruction.

"We'll take the jet and fly in low. Slade is sure to have the island rigged with sensors, so as soon as we land we're going to have to move fast. Raven will teleport us to the main room, and we'll apprehend Slade. Any questions?"

Beast Boy raised his hand, "Yeah; can we get pizza after?"

* * *

Jetstream relished the time spent flying towards the oil refinery. He loved to be up in the air; whether he was flying himself, or in a plane, the air was where he was most comfortable. Jet could always see so much better when he was up in the sky. The open space and abundance of air made it easy for him to feel out solid objects around him, and he always felt the air listened to him better when he was in the sky.

Despite the intensity in the air of closing in on Slade, Jetstream felt extremely relaxed and focused. It was the same feeling he would get before every high stakes mission he would go with, his... team. What were their names again? What did they look like? Jet was shaken out of his thoughts as the set hit some turbulence, and began to descend.

"We're closing in on the island," came Robin's voice over the intercom, "prepare for landing."

A moment later, Jetstream was able to feel the outline of the island below them. It stuck out against the ocean like a jagged, rusted knife. As the jet touched down on the dusty ground, the teens stood and filed quickly out onto the island. The high noon sun beat down on the old, decrepit island. Heat shimmered off of the metal that layed scattered about the ground. Soon the five of them stood in a tight circle around Raven, as the grey-skinned girl knelt and put a hand to the ground.

"Can you get us there?" asked Robin.

Raven nodded her head and closed her eyes, "I can, but it's going to take a lot of my energy to teleport us all. I won't be able to fight for a while once we're in."

"We got your back Ray," encouraged Cyborg, "Now get us in there."

Raven took a deep breath, and lifted her arms in the air as she stood, _"Azzarath metrion xinthos!" _

A bubble of black energy surrounded the teens as Raven floated in the air. It blocked out everything around them, and plunged the team into pitch black darkness. Not even a single glimmer of the bright noon sun could be seen through the field of energy.

"Ghaa!" exclaimed Beast Boy, "I can't see a thing!"

"Oh no," deadpanned Jetstream, "how terrible that must be."

"Hehe, sorry," mumbled Beast Boy.

After a few seconds, the field of energy dissipated and the teens found themselves in a large, high-ceilinged room underground. The floor and walls were made of the same type of rusted metal as the buildings on the surface. Raven floated back down on the ground and sat down, hard. She waved off help as the other members moved towards her.

"I'll be fine," she said wearily, "Go find Slade; I'll catch up."

"I'll contact you as soon as we locate him," said Robin, "but only come if you feel you can."

"Uh, dudes; I found him," said Beast Boy.

The Titans, and Jet, followed Beast Boy's gaze to the other side of the room. There, lined against the wall, was a series of screens and technological equipment that rivaled that of the Titans Tower. Machines whizzed, monitors buzzed, and tanks of fluid bubbled in a scene of controlled chaos. And there, standing in the center of all the equipment, was the one eyed, masked villain himself, Slade. He stood there, hands behind his back, staring at the teens as they gathered in a formation around Robin, waiting for the order to move.

"Well done, Robin," said Slade in his calm, taunting voice, "I must say, I am extremely impressed you managed to find this place; and I see you brought your new friend."

Robin began to quickly give instructions to the team under his breath, but Jetstream didn't hear a single word of it. In fact, he wasn't even focused on Slade at all, something much more important to him had grabbed his attention. He stared past the masked man as he felt and saw the outline of another person, a teenager, chained behind him. The boy seemed to be unconscious, as his head drooped down over his chest while his arms were lifted into the air by the chains. Jetstream's breathing became rapid as his memory suddenly confirmed the facial outline of the chained boy.

"Chief."


	10. Chapter 10

Jetstream gazed on the form of his weakened friend. His grey undershirt was soaked with sweat, along with his thick, brown hair. His face was downcast, and he seemed to be relying heavily on the chains that bound him to keep his torso up.

His black pants folded under him, along with his legs, as he sat on the dusty ground in a kneeling position. Chains and wires ensnared his arms and wrapped around his head, confining him to the back wall. Weak as Chief was, Jet could sense his pulse still throbbing in his body; he was alive.

Suddenly, sensing that he was no longer alone with Slade, Chief stirred and his head lifted; he saw Jetstream, and smiled. He flipped his sweat drenched hair to the side, and lifted his azure eyes to meet Jet's. Chief's eye's glowed purple for a moment with the last bit of energy he had, and Jetstream felt something click in his head. A knowing smile still played across Chief's lips, as his head dropped back down in exhaustion.

The room began to spin, as Jetstream's head felt like it was put in a vice. Memories began to come back in waves as Jetstream remembered his dreams. Clutching his forehead, Jetstream sank to his knees, head throbbing, as the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings of his past swelled into his mind. As Jetstream attempted to quell the eruption of emotions and sensations in his head, Slade glanced backward at his captive and made the connection.

"So, you know this boy; how interesting," Slade's tone was like that of a scientist studying an interesting form of lower animal.

As Jet sank lower to the ground, Robin made a move to help the dark-haired boy up. Jetstream, however, waved off his help and managed to stumble to his feet.

"I suppose you're here to free him," Slade continued, "is that it? Or are you just another one of Robin's lackeys, here to take me in?"

The rage on Jetstream's face made Robin uneasy; he looked like he was about to do something rash.

"Jet..."

"What did you do to him?!" yelled Jet, cutting off Robin.

"Oh, the chains?" asked Slade in a taunting voice, "Observe."

Slade produced a small, black remote from his waist belt, and pressed the red button in its center. A machine behind Chief lit up, and the boy's body lurched outward as a powerful bolt of electricity coursed through the chains. Jet could only look on in horror as his friend's face contorted in pain.

"Stop!" Jet screamed in desperation, "Let him go!"

"I'm afraid that is not possible," replied Slade

He removed his thumb from the button, and Chief slumped back down on his haunches.

"You see, I figured out rather quickly that this boy, Chief... isn't that what you called him... has powerful telekinetic abilities," Slade looked back at Chiefss heaving form, and spoke with something akin to admiration in his voice, "Yes, he very nearly got the best of me in our first encounter; almost subdued me all on his own."

Slade turned back to the Titans and tilted his head at them, "Almost."

"Why are you torturing him?" demanded Jetstream through gritted teeth.

"Torturing?" retorted Slade, "Believe me, boy, if I had been torturing your friend here... just be glad I wasn't torturing him."

Jetstream had to be held back by Robin, to keep from charging Slade singe-handedly.

"Don't do anything stupid," whispered Robin harshly in Jet's ear, "Keep him talking while I think of a plan."

Jetstream swallowed his anger, looked up at Slade, and rephrased the question, "So why are you hurting him?"

"Well, it's not out of spite, if that is what you were thinking. You see, the electricity I have running through Chief is keeping his powers under wraps; it's an old trick I picked up in my earlier years, and I have found it most effective on all sorts of mentally enhanced individuals."

"Do you normally entrap random people in your industrial secret lairs?" continued Jet, as Robin moved back to the other Titans, "Or was this a just a one-time thing?"

Jetstream knew Slade saw Robin rejoin the others, but he continued to focus on Jet; almost like he didn't care what Robin did. That worried Jetstream; they had this guy outnumbered six to one, seven if he could get to Chief, so why was Slade so calm?

"This boy, as a matter of fact, found this place all on his own," stated Slade, "How he managed, that I haven't a clue. I assumed dumb luck at first, but after I first confronted him and he escaped my grasp, I began to think he made his way here on purpose."

Chief stirred in his restraints, and Slade casually pressed the button on his remote again, sending him into another fit of thrashing. Jetstream balled his fists in rage, as his hair swirled up in a gust of wind.

"Yes," continued Slade, "It took me nearly a full day to locate him again, once he had hidden away in the old buildings up top."

Slade walked over to Chief, and patted him on the head as he gasped for breath, "But as you can see, nobody gets the better of me twice."

Suddenly Robin and the others leapt into action, charging Slade in a perfectly executed formation. All except for Raven, who had still not fully recovered. But as Jet watched, Slade made no move to defend himself, he simply turned calmly to the charging teens with his hands behind his back.

Robin, who was leading the charge, was the first to hit the force field. The blue field of energy sparked brightly as Robin came in contact with it and sent the masked Titan flying backward, tendrils of electricity coursing through his body. Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg, who were unable to stop in time, quickly followed suite and were also rebounded by the field.

The blue lights of Cyborgs mechanical parts flickered as the electricity ran through his body. As Starfie hit the ground, her auburn hair blackened at the end, Robin stumbled back to his feet. He threw several of his bird shaped bombs at the field, but they had no effect other than causing copious amounts of smoke to float to the ceiling.

Beast Boy was next to recover as he had been at the back of the charge and hit the field with the least force. He quickly morphed into an electric eel as he flung himself at the blue wall of energy, but found that he could not break through to the other side. As he morphed back to his normal self, Cyborg and Starfire began to blast the wall with Starbolts and Cyborg's sonic cannon. They soon found however, that nothing would break through the glimmering wall of energy.

"Are you all quite done yet?" asked Slade in a bored manner.

"Leave them be, Slade," croaked Chief, weakly lifting his head.

"Silence, boy," commanded Slade as he pressed the button on his remote.

Chief's cry of pain was the last straw for Jetstream, flying over to the field, the dark haired boy called out to Slade.

"I'm giving you one chance, Slade!" yelled Jet as he hovered in the air, his head a few feet above Slade's, "release Chief this instantl and turn yourself in!"

"Or?" questioned Slade as he released the button, and Chef relaxed back into his restraints.

"Or you'll force me to do something, that I really don't want to do," replied Jetstream darkly.

Hearing this, Chief's head perked up and he looked at Jet, fear in his purple eyes. Jetstream already had his hand on his glasses, but as he looked at Chief, the restrained boy shook his head, unable to manage words. Jet knew that look well.

It's too dangerous, not yet, that is an absolute last resort. Jetstream got the message, and as he looked back at the Titans, he decided Chief was right. If he lost control, he could seriously hurt his friends. But they had no other plan. What else could he do?

As he looked down at his friend, Chief nodded towards Slade, and then bumped his head on the machine he was chained to. Jetstream put two and two together, and realized what Chief was implying, but it was going to be difficult; controlling air he wasn't directly connected to was very hard.

Jetstream floated back down to the ground, hanging his head as if he was defeated. He had to get Slade to take a step back from the field.

"What's this?" asked Slade in a taunting tone, "Here I was, expecting some grand maneuver."

Slade turned his back to Jet and started to walk over to Chief. Perfect. Suddenly Jet threw out his hands and pushed the air hard at Slade. It felt a bit wobbly, but had the desired effect. Slade flipped head over heels and flew back first into the machine above Chief's head. Chief ducked and closed his eyes as the metal of the machine crumpled inward at the force of the collision.

In a frenzy of sparks and flashing lights, the machine buzzed loudly, then exploded, sending Slade and Chief flying forward as the force field died and the electrified cuffs entangling Chief unlocked. Acting quickly, Jetstream flew forward and managed to soften Chiefs fall by half catching, half colliding with him in mid-air.

Slade hit the ground hard ,and rolled a couple of times before coming to a stop on his back. Before the masked man could regain his footing, he was surrounded by the Titans, with Robin pinning him to the ground with his staff.

Chief coughed as Jet helped him to his feet and pushed his sweat soaked hair out of his eyes.

"I just meant for you to fling the remote into the force field," said Chief through a laughing cough, "But that worked too."

Jetstream laughed along with his friend, and rubbed his head sheepishly.

"Got any recovery chews left?" asked Chief as he released Jet and stood on his ownz; Chief was an inch or two shorter than Jet, and Jet could smell the burned ends of his hair.

Jetstream was confused about the question at first, then suddenly remembered the powerful little gummies that Chief had invented. Rustling through the inside of his jacket pocket, Jetstream found the small container that held the chews.

"I completely forgot they were in there," marveled Jet as he opened the container, and handed Chief one of the red, nickel sized gummies.

"Don't remind me," replied Chief as he popped the gummy into his mouth; his face scrunched up for a moment and his eyes watered as he chewed, "Whew, those things sure pack a punch."

Chief shook his head and swallowed hard; his face almost immediately brightened and he stood up straight, his breathing regular, "That should do it for now, but I'm gonna need to run some serious head checks when we get back to base."

Chief threw out his hand, suddenly a staff with a tennis ball sized silver sphere on the top flew out of the corner. Chief deftly snagged the staff out of the air and tapped it smartly on the ground.

As if responding to Chiefs touch, a pulse of purple energy flowed from the top of the staff and into his arm. Chief sucked in a sharp breath, like he had just had cold water splashed on him, and lifted himself up on the balls of his feet.

Chief seemed to glow for a moment, his purple eyes shining unnaturally bright. But soonthe glow faded, as he sighed contently, settling back on down on his heels. "That's better; now, where is my, ah..."

Chief waved his staff, and a long, ankle length brown coat flew off of a nearby table and into Chief's arms, followed closely by a matching brown fedora with a grey stripe around the middle.

Jetstream shook his head and laughed, as Chief donned his coat and hat, "You never lose that ratty old hat, do you?"

In response, Chief grinned and flicked the bill of the fedora at Jet. Meanwhile, Robin had pulled Slade to his feet and slapped a pair of handcuffs on his wrists.

"Game's over, Slade," stated Robin triumphantly, "You lose."

Slade looked back over his shoulder at Robin, and sniffed as he pressed a button on the back of his belt.

"Net yet, Robin, not yet."

Suddenly, a white cloud of harsh smoke billowed out of Slade's utility belt, forcing Robin and the other's to cover their faces. In the confusion, Slade swept Robin's legs out from under him and took off running.

Covering his mouth, Robin quickly got back up and peered through the thick, choking smoke. As he did, he saw Slade run across the room and enter what appeared to be an elevator. Slade jumped skillfully in the air and swung his hands under his legs as he did. As he pressed a button on the inside of the elevator, Robin took off after him.

"Stop him!" he yelled as the other Titans tried to get their bearings.

Robin arrived at the doors a second too late. The metal doors closed in front of him and began to rise up the elevator shaft. Acting quickly, Robin pulled out his grappling hook and shot it up at the receding elevator.

As the hook caught on the bottom of the elevator, Jetstream pushed the harsh smoke to one side of the room with the wind. But by the time the smoke had cleared, Robin had already disappeared up the shaft, chasing Slade.

"Robin!" yelled Starfire in distress.

"Star, Beast Boy, after him," barked Cyborg, "Raven, can you fly?"

Raven got to her feet and nodded. As the three Titans flew up after their leader, Jetstream looked to Chief for direction.

"Go with them; I'll meet you up top," Said Chief somberly.

Jet looked at his friend and leader frowning, not wanting to leave him so soon.

"Go, Jet; I'll be fine," Chief turned, and strode towards Cyborg, "Cyborg, I'm assuming; come with me, I know a way out."

"How do you know..."

Chief cut him off with a wave of his hand, "A conversation for another time; we need to move."

Whether it was the fact that Cyborg had no other option, or that Chief was naturally persuasive, he agreed to go with him. As Chief and Cyborg ran to the back of the room, Jetstream hesitated for a moment, then flew up the dark elevator shaft after Robin and the others.


	11. Chapter 11

_"Alright, Chief, I'm about to head out."_

_"Very well; fly high and catch a strong wind if you can, it's a long flight from here to Jump City."_

_"Yeah, yeah; I know. Tell the others I'll be back in a couple of days. Oh, and keep Haze out of my room; he can't help but loot the place when he goes in."_

_"Haha, I'll try. And Jet..."_

_"Yeah?_

_"I don't need to remind you how important it is you make a good impression on the Titans; we need them as allies, not enemies."_

_"I know, I know; play nice, good manners, all that stuff. I'll shoot ya a call when I get there."_

_"Oh! Jet, one more thing; I was tracking a pretty wicked storm on the radar earlier. It shouldn't cross your path, but be on the lookout, this thing was like a hurricane."_

_"Will do; see ya later, Chief."_

* * *

Jetstream was snapped out of his flashback, as an explosion racked the elevator shaft. There was a flash of bright green light, as Starfire grabbed Robin and shot more Starbolts at the bottom of the elevator.

As he flew upwards, dodging chunks of metal that had been blown out of the bottom of the elevator, Jet felt the figure of Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven ascend through the hole and out onto the island.

Pressing the wind underneath him, Jetstream picked up speed; not wanting to be left behind by his friends. His head throbbed as more and more memories began to surface, fighting for attention and recognition. Did Chief really have to unlock everything all at once?

Shaking his head, Jetstream managed to push his reeling memories to the back of his mind, and focus on the task at hand; catching Slade. Flying towards the light coming from the hole in the elevator, Jetstream soon burst out onto the island. Robin and the others were standing just outside the entrance to the elevator.

As Jet surveyed the scene, his face dropped and his shoulders sagged.

"Crap."

* * *

"So did you implant those biomechanical prosthetic parts yourself, or did a doctor do it?"

Chief and Cyborg ran through the various rooms and hallways of Slade's secret bunker. Chief tried to make conversation with the robotic man as he led the way back to the surface.

"Actually, my father did the surgery after... Wait, why am I telling you this? I don't even know you," asked Cyborg incredulously.

Chief grinned over his shoulder at the robotic teen, and shrugged, "I don't know, but it doesn't really matter, I already know almost everything about you."

"Wha..."

"I was just wondering what kind of alloy you used for the metal. I dabbled in cyberbiotic engineering for a while a couple years back, when I had to implant similar prosthetics on a friend of mine. I used maraging steel for the internal structure, but coated the outside with grapheme."

Forgetting for a moment about Chief's earlier comment, Cyborg nodded his head.

"Yeah, that's about as strong as it gets, but mine are made of a special metal specifically designed to resemble the structure of a diamond. It's a pain to make, but the results are... Hey, wait a second, don't change the subject!" Cyborg yelled as Chief rounded a corner of the hallway, "What do you mean you know everything about me?"

Cyborg ran quickly to catch up with the strange purple eyed boy.

Chief shrugged again as they jogged down the dusty hallway, and lifted his palms upwards, "What can I say; I do my research."

Chief reached into his coat, and pulled out a small rectangular device; like a cellphone. He punched a code into the device with his thumb, and suddenly a 3-D projection of 'Teen Titans' popped up above the screen. Underneath was a 3-D model of Cyborg.

As the hallway opened up into another large room, Chief handed Cyborg the device and began to cross the room. Alarmed, Cyborg studied the projecting of himself, and soon several bars of text along, with graphs and charts, popped up alongside his projection. Two words in large bold letters floated above Cyborg's projection, that read 'Teen Titans'.

The graphs and charts gave startlingly accurate statistics about his strength, speed, stamina, intelligence, and other capabilities. Meanwhile, the bars of text slowly scrolled upwards, giving information into Cyborg's past and personal information.

Baffled, Cyborg swiped across his projection and it flew off to the side, it was then replaced with a similar projection of Robin, along with the same type of information. Cyborg looked up at Chief, who was tinkering with a set of metal sliding doors on the other side of the room, wondering how he had gotten this information.

Cyborg's wonder soon turned to disbelief as he swiped across the screen again, and again, watching as projections of Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven popped out of the screen and flew to the side. This guy didn't just know everything about him, he had the whole team on here. Cyborg shook his head as he walked over to Chief, he swiped across the screen again to see what other valuable info it held.

The large 'Teen Titans' expanded, and read 'Teen Titans: East'.

"No way," mumbled Cyborg.

Sure enough, as he continued to scroll through the incriminating device, projections of Aqua-Lad, Bumblebee, Speedy, Mas, and Menos appeared on the screen, with all their information.

"How did you..."

"Bingo!" exclaimed Chief, as the metal doors he was messing with slid open. The mysterious boy stepped into the elevator and pressed a button. Cyborg quickly jumped in after him as the doors slid close; after a moment, they began to ascend.

"Why aren't there any villains in here?" asked Cyborg as he continued to swipe through the device.

The heading had changed again, now it read 'Unaffiliated'; Jericho, Pantha, Red X, and other supers flew across the screen.

"Because that projector only has the data of potential allies," replied Chief nonchalantly, as he pulled another projector, identical to the one Cyborg was holding, out of his coat; he waved it in the air for a second, then put it back in his coat, "I like to keep things organized."

Cyborg continued to flick through the device, thinking about the fit Robin would throw if he knew about the info this guy had. Suddenly, the heading floating above the projector changed once more, it read 'ASAP', and projected an image of Jetstream.

The projector then took on a purple glow, and lifted out of Cyborgs hand. Chief opened his coat as the device flew into one of its inner pockets.

"What's ASAP?" asked Cyborg.

Chief sniffed and gave him a half smile as the elevator came to a halt.

"Yet another conversation for another time," replied Chief as the metal doors slid open, filling the small room with sunlight.

As Cyborg blinked several times, trying to adjust to the sudden light, he and Chief stepped out of the elevator.

As the metal doors slid closed behind them, an unassuming rusted door closed over the shiny double doors. If he hadn't of stepped out of it just a second ago, Cyborg would never had guessed there was an elevator there. They had popped put somewhere amongst the industrial buildings on the inner part of the island.

Cyborg looked around, wondering how many of the dilapidated old buildings hid Slade's technology.

When he looked back, Chief was already a good ways off, walking at a furious pace.

"Hey, wait up!" yelled Cyborg as he ran to catch the brown-cloaked boy, "Let me contact Robin; do you know where you're going?"

"Always," replied Chief over his shoulder.

"Hey, man; wait!" Cyborg finally caught Chief and grabbed his arm.

Chief winced and sucked in a sharp breath; Cyborg released Chief, and he immediately began to walk away in his hurried manner.

"You're hurt," called Cyborg as he followed Chief, "If there's a fight, you're not gonna last."

"And what makes you think I'm headed towards the fight?" asked Chief, "Do you have the keys to your ship?"

"Wha... yes, I do," answered Cyborg in resignation.

"Good, then I won't have to break in."

* * *

Jetstream and the others had surfaced on the outskirts of the island. As they emerged from a large boulder, disguised to hide the elevator, they were greeted by a large, open field of red dirt. The industrial buildings shimmered on the horizon in the heat of the sun. Jetstream hadn't realized how far Raven had teleported them, no wonder she was exhausted.

But the reason for Jetstream's dismayed reaction to the surface, was not the distance they had traveled from the ship. No, the reason for Jetstream's disheartened attitude, was the fact that Slade was nowhere to be seen.

The group of teens frantically scanned their surroundings, but Slade had all but disappeared, and Robin was furious.

"Slade!" he yelled, turning in circles, staff in hand, "Where are you?!"

It was baffling, there was nowhere he could have gone; they were in an open field. Robin turned back towards Jetstream, and his eyes got wide.

"Jet! Look out!" he cried, but it was too late.

No sooner had the words left his mouth, then Jetstream felt something smack the back of his head; hard. Slade, who had climbed to the top of the boulder before the teens got there, knocked Jetstream out of the air with a vicious kick, and pinned him to the ground with his knee. Somehow he had gotten the cuffs off, and drawn his sidearm.

Before the others could react, Slade had Jet up in a choke-hold, with the muzzle of a pistol pressed against the teen's temple. Jet struggled and clawed at Slade's arm, but the masked man was too strong for him; he was trapped.

"Jet!" exclaimed Starfire, "Release him, now!"she demanded as her eyes and hands took on a fierce green aura.

"Yeah, let him go Slade; it's us you want," said Beast Boy.

Raven, who was still too weak to use her powers, looked nervously at Jet as Robin scrambled in his mind for an idea, but he came up with nothing.

"Now, now, children; you are in no place to make demands," chided Slade.

Starfire floated closer to Slade and raised her arm.

"Now dear Starfire, do you really think your shot will hit me before I pull this trigger?"

Starfire paused in the air for a moment, then floated to the ground, defeated. Her snarl was replaced with a look of worry and her eyes returned to normal.

"That's better; now, here is what's going to happen," keeping a firm hold on Jet, Slade pressed a button on his wrist, "My men will be here in a few moments to escort you all to my own personal prison. If you give them any sort of trouble or try any sort of escape... well, then I won't be able to guarantee the safety of your friend here."

"Slade; you dirty, rotten..."

"Now, now, Robin; control your temper. What kind of an example are you setting for your team here?" Slade made a motion with the pistol that knocked Jet's glasses slightly askew.

"No!" gasped Jet.

Noticing Jet's distress, Slade pressed the muzzle of the gun against the frame of Jet's glasses, and pushed them a little further.

"Don't!" yelled Raven, the distress clear in her voice.

"And why not?" asked Slade in a sinister tone while Jetstream clawed desperately at his arm.

"Something terrible will happen if you take of his glasses." Said Raven. There was a moment's pause, then Slade looked at Jet's face.

"Well, now I have to, don't I?" Slade began to slowly slide Jet's glasses forward.

Jetstream's mind began to race. This couldn't happen; he couldn't let this happen. They might never recover. But what could he do? Suddenly Jet had an idea, and he prayed to God that it would work.

Just as his glassed were about to slide off the end of his nose, Jetstream threw out his hand and made a grabbing motion. Suddenly he felt Slade tense up, like somebody had hit him with an electric current. Jet tightened his grip on the air and lifted his fist.

Slade's grip on Jet and his pistol quivered as though he was struggling hard to maintain it. Suddenly Slade released both Jetstream and the gun and clutched his chest with both hands. Jet sucked in a large breath and adjusted his glasses as Slade lifted about a foot off the ground.

He almost couldn't believe it had worked, but sure enough, there he was; holding Slade aloft with the air in his lungs. Slade's chin was pointed up as he clawed for air at his chest. The feelings was surreal; literally holding a man's life in your hands, and Jetstream didn't like it.

As he threw down his arm, and Slade slammed onto the ground in front of the Titans, gasping for breath. Robin quickly subdued and re-cuffed Slade, though he wouldn't have been able to put up much of a fight.

Jetstream fell to a knee, as sudden wave of exhaustion coming over him. He didn't know why, but that little move had really drained him. Raven and Starfire moved over towards Jet and helped him back to his feet.

"Are you okay?" asked Raven.

"Yeah... just need to... catch my breath," gasped Jet.

"Dude, you sure caught Slade's," Beast Boy commented.

Jet and Starfire laughed, as Jet stood on his own.

"I am glad you are uninjured, and that we can all go home," stated Starfire.

"Uhh, dudes?" everyone looked over at Beast Boy, who was pointing towards the industrial buildings.

Five large trucks were speeding towards the teens, kicking up a huge volume of dust in their wake. Despair ran through the teens as the rumbling of wheels on packed dirt reached their ears. They were going to be horribly outnumbered, and two of them were already weak.

"Everyone get ready, don't let them get to Slade!" ordered Robin as the trucks shimmered in the distance.

The teens formed up around Robin and began, to brace themselves for a fierce fight.

They trucks, however, never did reach the teens, or Slade. Because at about that moment, the sound of jet engines cut through the air. Suddenly, the T-plane burst through the cloud of smoke kicked up by the trucks. The Titans cheered as Cyborg and Chief opened fire on the convoy.

In a few seconds, the trucks were reduced to scrap metal as the missiles of the T-plane found their marks. As the T-plane landed next to the teens, the hulls of the trucks burning in the distance, Cyborg and Chief stepped out and greeted their friends.

"Alright, I'm gonna say it; booyah!" gloated Cyborg.

The Titans, along with Chief and Jetstream, filed into the jet with Slade in tow.

"Good work, team," said Robin as the jet took off, "We got him."

There was no response from Slade.


	12. Chapter 12

The next day, the Titans had the day off. Robin had told the team to relax in the tower while he went with the police to ensure Slade was put away properly. The teens tried to convince Robin to stay and relax with them, but the boy wonder insisted upon seeing Slade put away himself.

So, as noontime rolled around at Titans Tower, the four Titians, along with Jetstream and Chief, were winding down in the main room with a couple of large pizzas. Jokes were told, stories were shared, and a general merriment filled the air as the team was finally able to let their guard down after an intense couple of days.

As Jet seated himself next to Chief on the couch, pizza in hand, Cyborg and Beast Boy started up one of their favorite video games. It amazed Jet how the two could eat pizza, play video games, and crack jokes at one another all at one time. Raven rolled her eyes at the two gamers and sat on the opposite side of the couch from Jet. Soon, she was deeply invested in a book.

Meanwhile, Starfire paced in the air behind the couch, T-phone clutched in her hand, and a look of worry plastered on her face. Jet noticed Starfire's apprehension and nudged Chief, who was tinkering with one of his data logs. When he looked up, Jet nodded towards Starfire and raised an eyebrow at Chief.

Normally Jetstream would have said something to calm Starfire down himself, but Chief had a special way with words. The guy could convince you that the earth was square and the sky was purple if you listened to him long enough. Looking over at Starfire, Chief saw what Jet wanted and nodded.

"Starfire," called Chief.

The green eyed girl jumped, and looked over at Chief.

Chief smiled warmly and nodded his head back, "Come over here and sit down; relax."

The buttery warmth of Chief's voice seemed to soothe Starfire for a moment, then her look of worry returned.

"But what if Robin calls for help, and we are unable to answer?" Asked Starfire; half to herself, half to Chief, "Oh, I wish he would have allowed us to accompany him."

Cyborg raised his hand and waved off Starfire's comment.

"You know how Robin is, Star; he'll be fine," said Cyborg without taking his eyes off the screen.

"Cyborg's right," agreed Chief, "I've met people like Robin before; headstrong and dedicated. He just needs to get this done, get it off his chest, and he'll come back good as new; you'll see."

Starfire sighed and smiled, "I suppose you are right, thank you."

Chief nodded as Starfire floated over to the couch and grabbed a piece of pizza off the table. Once Starfire had clipped her communicator back on her belt and sat next to Raven, Jet turned back to Chief.

"So," started Jet, biting into a slice of pizza, "How's everything upstairs?"

Chief adjusted his hat as he punched a last few bits of data into one of his logs. Jet glanced at the screen before Chief clicked it off. A picture of Slade, and some information on the masked man was all he saw before the creen went black.

"I ran some tests this morning, and everything was in order," Replied Chief, rubbing a finger along his temple, "A few of them nearly got loose during Slade's... treatment, but I was able to keep them under control."

"Uhh, them?" Asked Beast Boy.

It baffled Jet how Beast Boy could be completely invested in a fast paced video game, and still be able to eavesdrop on conversations. Chief chuckled sheepishly and rolled his staff back and forth in his hands.

"Yeah, them," Replied Chief, "Nothing is free in this world Beast Boy, and that includes my powers."

"What do you mean?" Asked Starfire.

Chief sighed and looked over at Jet, who shrugged as if to say, 'if you want to'.

"Well, it's a long story, but I'll give you the summary. You see, when I got my powers, my brain couldn't cope with the huge amount of information that was shoved into it. So, in order to keep track of it all, my brain created several different personalities. Each one distinct, and each one very strong."

By now the entire team was staring at Chief, hanging on his every word.

"Anyway, I gained a vast intellect and telekinesis at the cost of my mental privacy, and nearly my sanity. I can normally keep my other sides under control, but that doesn't stop them. They all think they should be in charge, and they never stop fighting me," As Chief looked up at the group of teens he gave them a half grin.

"But I don't regret what happened to me," He said, nudging Jet in the side, "I've made some lifelong friends as a result."

There was a moment of awkward silence after Chief finished, but that was soon broken by Beast Boy.

"So do you know everything?" He asked.

Chief laughed and shook his head, "No; nobody knows everything, Beast Boy. But I do know a lot of stuff."

Jetstream leaned back on the couch and pushed his hair back.

"O, don't act so modest, Chief," He taunted, "Go ahead guys, ask him anything. I'd bet money he's got an answer."

Beast Boy jumped at the opportunity, and soon the others joined in as well.

"The square root of 927?" Asked Beast Boy.

"30.44, rounded," Answered Chief, without missing a beat.

"The height of Mount Everest?" Asked Cyborg.

"29,029 feet."

"Man's greatest fear?" Asked Raven.

"Most normally, isolation."

"What is my Tamaranian name?" Asked Starfire, thinking that that would surely stump Chief.

There was a moment's pause, then Chief tipped his hat and grinned.

"Koriand'r" Said Chief, pronouncing the name in perfect Tamaranian dialect.

"How did y..."

"Starfire, you'd be hard pressed to find a language, human or alien, that I am not fluent in," Explained Chief.

Starfire stared at Chief for a moment, mouth agape, then quickly launched into a Tamaranian conversation with him. The two went back and forth for a few minutes, speaking rapidly in the alien language.

"Oh this is marvelous!" Exclaimed Starfire, switching back to English, "I have not been able to speak in my native tongue in a very long time!"

"Glad to be of service," Laughed Chief, "Any other questions? Anyone?"

There was a pause, as the group began to wrack their brains for something that would trip up the seemingly omniscient boy. Suddenly Beast Boy's ears perked up and a sly grin played across his lips.

"Yeah," He said, "I got one."

"Shoot," Challenged Chief.

Beat Boy threw out his hand and pointed at Jetstream, "What's under Jet's glasses!?"

Chief froze, obviously taken aback by the question, then glanced at Jetstream. Jet's smile had faded to a look of sadness.

"Listen, Beast Boy..." Started Chief.

"Oh come on, I know you know," Interrupted the green teen. "Pleeeeaaase tell me; it's killing me!"

"Beast Boy!" Snapped Raven, "This is not the time!"

"No, Raven," Sighed Chief, looking over at Beast Boy, "It's fine. Listen Beast Boy, in all honesty, I really don't know."

"What?" Asked the deflated Beast Boy.

"But Jetstream said you were the only person to have seen under his glasses, and, well... you know, not be affected," Mentioned Cyborg, who had actually been just as curious as Beast Boy to hear the answer.

Chief sniffed and rolled his staff in between his hands.

"Well, that statement is true, but is also false," Seeing the questioning looks of the teens, Chief continued, "It's not something I like to talk about…..hmm, how to explain it?"

Chief ran a hand over his mouth, then began to tell the story.

"You know how I was telling you about those personalities in my head that are always fighting for dominance?" The Titans all nodded in unison, "Well, one time, when Jetstream and I were just starting out, a particularly powerful and dark side of me came to surface."

Chief pulled the bill of his hat down over his eyes, "I completely lost control, and did a lot of damage. Lots of people got hurt."

The guilt in Chief's voice was evident, and Jet placed a hand on his friends shoulder, "Luckily, before I could do anything too destructive, Jet stepped in and stopped me. And despite the incredible pain it put him through, Jet used his power to take me down. If it hadn't been for Jetstream, I may never have been able to usurp that side of me, and return to normal."

"Amazing," Muttered Starfire.

"So, you never saw anything?" Asked Cyborg.

Chief shook his head, "No."

"What happened to that other side of you? I mean, is l he like, dead?" Questioned Beast Boy.

Chief tapped the side of his head with his staff, "He's still in here, but I haven't felt much activity from him since I regained control. That part of my brain has been a bit fuzzy ever since."

Chief sniffed and looked sadly at the ceiling, "I don't even remember what happened while I was, overtaken."

"Man, I'm... I'm sorry, Chief," Mumbled Beast Boy.

Chief smiled and leaned back on the couch.

"Ah, don't be," He said, shrugging, "Curiosity is natural, but sometimes you don't like the answers you get. Besides, the past is in the past; no need to dwell on it. Now come on," Chief lifted his staff and another pizza floated in from the kitchen, "We're supposed to be relaxing."

The teens agreed heartily and each took a slice of pizza. The rest of the evening was relatively dull, food was eaten, video games played, and books were read. But as the afternoon faded to dusk, and Robin had still not checked in; Starfire began to worry again.

While Beast Boy, Cyborg, Jetstream, and Chief sat around the kitchen table playing cards, Raven meditated on the couch. Meanwhile Starfire was pacing in the air again, T-phone clutched in her hand.

"Got any twos?" Asked Jet.

"Go fish," Replied Cyborg.

As Jetstream drew a card, Starfire shook her arms and huffed.

"Oh, what is the difficult part of answering the phone?!" She exclaimed, "I have attempted to contact Robin more than what is normal, but he does not answer!"

"Relax Star," Said Cyborg as he examined his cards, "Robin will be back any minute."

As if on cue, Robin's face flashed up on the main monitor.

"See, what'd I tell ya?"

"Robin, where have you..." Starfire was cut off as Robin began to speak clearly, and without emotion.

"Listen carefully, I'm quitting the Teen Titans. Do not try to look for me, goodbye," As soon as he had appeared, Robin cut the connection, and was gone.

"W-what?"


	13. Chapter 13

"W-what?" Muttered Starfire, clutching her communicator to her chest. As the bright light from the setting sun shone into the Titan's main room, a dark feeling settled over the teens. Starfire appeared to be on the verge of tears, while Cyborg, Raven, and Chief stared at the now blank monitor in bafflement.

Quitting the Teen Titans? Robin would never do that, he couldn't…could he? The drama of the situation was lost on Beast Boy and Jetstream, as they hadn't even heard Robin's message. The two were still intently focused on playing cards.

"Got any fours?" Asked Beast Boy as he scratched his head, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"Go fish." Replied Jet nonchalantly. Beast Boy groaned as he reached for the deck of cards, but his hand faltered as he was about to draw.

"Wait a sec." He said, peering at Jetstream. "Aren't you blind?" Jetstream slowly lowered his cards just enough that the rims of his glasses poked out over the top.

"….maybe." He said quickly. By now the teens were all staring at the oblivious duo, wondering how they could have been so ignorant to the situation. All except for Starfire, who was still staring wide eyed at the screen, as though that would make Robin reappear and tell her everything was actually ok, and that he'd be home soon.

As Beast Boy and Jet became aware of the numerous eyes fixated upon them, they looked back and forth between their teammates.

"What?" They asked in unison. Sighing, Cyborg got up from the table and nodded towards Chief.

"Fill 'em in?" He asked.

"Sure thing." Agreed Chief. While Chief talked to the two card masters, Cyborg walked over to Raven and Starfire. Raven had managed to recover her normal apathetic look. But Starfire still looked like she had just been slapped across the face by a good friend.

"Slade?" Wondered Raven aloud.

"It's gotta be." Stated Cyborg. "There's no other reason he would say something like that. We've gotta find him, fast." Cyborg glanced up at Starfire, who still had not budged. "Star?" He asked, his face softening. "You okay?" Starfire blinked slowly a few times, and Cyborg wondered if she had even heard him. "Starfire?"

Starfire's look of bewilderment faded away to a grimace that would have curdled milk. The Tamaranian girl looked back over her shoulder at Cyborg, which made him recoil a bit. He had never seen Starfire so angry. Her eyes lit up with a green energy as she hooked her communicator to her belt.

"I grow tired of Slade's antics." She growled through gritted teeth. "He must be stopped." Before Cyborg could respond, Starfire shot a Starbolt at the window and shattered the large panel of glass.

"Starfire wait!" Yelled Raven as she raised her cloak to fend off the shower of broken glass. Her mind set, Starfire flew out the window and towards the city, a multitude of colors from the setting sun reflecting off her auburn hair streaming out behind her. Cyborg stared out the window for a moment, then turned and jogged towards the elevator.

"Come on!" He ordered. "Let's get to the police station, they'll know what happened."

"What about Starfire?" Asked Beast Boy, now fully caught up to the situation.

"She can handle herself," Replied Cyborg as he pressed the elevator button. "Unless you wanna try to stop her." Beast Boy grimaced.

"Uh, nah I'm good." As the sleek metal doors slid open, Chief and Cyboeg stepped inside and pressed the button to go down.

"Then meet us at the station. One way or another, we're going to figure this out." After Chief and Cyborg disappeared down the elevator shaft, Jet and Beast Boy walked over to Raven, who was already standing at the shattered window. Jet ran a hand through his black hair.

"Man." He sighed. "So much for relaxing." Beast Boy nodded his head in agreement, then nudged Jet in the side as a sly smile came across his face.

"Bet I can beat ya to the station, beach boy."

"You're on." Laughed Jet. As Beast Boy transformed into a flacon, the duo flew out the window at top speed. Soon they were two mere dots against the setting sun.

"Idiots." Mumbled Raven as she floated out towards the city.

"It is done sir. Is there anything else you need?" Robin closed his communicator and dropped it on the ground, it clanged against the concrete floors and echoed through the large cathedral-like room he was in. As Robin smashed the device with his heel, he turned to the wrinkly old man seated behind him. Underneath Robin's mask, his eyes glowed a malicious shade of purple, in unison with the old mans.

"No, thank you Robin, you may return to your cell now." He responded, lifting a glass of wine off the armrest of his large, golden throne. He brought the glass up under his long, crooked nose and sipped the crimson liquid.

"Yes sir." Robin gave a wobbly salute and walked back into the dark hallway to his right, stumbling as he went. The old man chuckled as he adjusted his silk, silver robes and sipped his glass of wine again. How easy it was to manipulate the young, their minds so immature, so easily accessible.

Now all he had to do was wait, and his prize would come to him. The white haired man plucked a clear tablet off of the ornately decorated table beside him and set it in his lap. After he ran his finger across it, a live video feed of Chief, riding shotgun inside the T-car, popped up in a 3-D projection in front of the man.

"Make haste Chief, you know how I hate to wait."

As Chief and Cyborg raced through the city towards the police station, Cyborg couldn't help but notice the troubled look on Chief's face.

"What are you thinking about Chief? You'll melt a hole through my windshield if ya keep staring at it like that." Chief's head popped up as he was startled out of his thoughts.

"I'm worried Cyborg." He muttered. "Something's not right." Cyborg nodded his head as he turned a corner.

"I know what ya mean, but don't let it stress ya too much. Believe it or not, this ain't the first time Robin's pulled something like this." Chief raised an eyebrow and looked at Cyborg questioningly. Cyborg grinned and nodded. "Uh hu, had this whole Red X situation a while back, but it turned out all right, just being sneaky. I bet he got himself into a similar situation." As Chief's brow furrowed back into concentration, Cyborg pulled onto the main strip of the town.

"It's not Robin I'm worried about." Stated Chief. This time it was Cyborg's turn to look confused. "You see, I ran a check earlier today with Robin before he left, and all the major criminals in this area are accounted for. No breakouts, no heists, nothing." Chief began to roll his staff in between his hands, the way he did whenever he was thinking hard.

"Slade had no weaponry on him, we made sure of that. And there is no way he could have possibly gotten a message out for help…." Chief trailed off as he stared straight ahead, deep in thought. As Cyborg pulled up to the police station, he attempted to set Chief's mind at rest.

"Look, Slade is a crafty guy, we've been trying to get him behind bars for a long time now. There's no telling what kind of stunt he may have pulled to get out." Chief reluctantly agreed as he got out of the car. It probably was Slade, probably just some stupid trick he thought up to mess with the Titans.

Or, said one of the voices in the back of his head, it could be _him. _Chief was once again shaken out of his thoughts as a large green falcon swooped out of the air and landed in front of him. Soon, a panting Beast Boy was doubled over in front of him, a triumphant grin on his face.

"Ha!" He gasped as Jetstream floated down beside him. "Beat ya!" Jetstream pulled a face at Beast Boy as he rubbed his backside.

"You cheated." Huffed Jet, checking the back of his pants for holes. Beast Boy shrugged as he caught his breath.

"Hey man, it's not my fault your butt is vulnerable to falcon claws."

"Where's Raven?" Asked Cyborg, locking the T-car. Suddenly the pale skinned girl swooped down and landed on the steps to the police station.

"Here." She said in a monotone voice. At the arrival of their last member, the team scaled the stone steps to the station and walked inside to the front desk. Now, being half robot, Cyborg was used to getting looks while he was out in public. People tended to stair when you had circuits for brains. But the guys at the police station had known him for a while now, so when the man at the front desk went pale and wide eyed when the group walked in the doors, it was a bit confusing to Cyborg.

"Ah geez, not again!" The pudgy cop's hair comb mustache was practically quivering as Cyborg approached the front desk. Before Cyborg could ask what was wrong, the cop threw up his hands and began to plead with him.

"Look, I-I already told your friend everything. Robin left a couple hours ago with Slade and a few of our cruisers I don't know what happened to him but our cruisers came back about an hour ago and said everything went fine and-" Cyborg raised his hand to stop the rambling man.

"Whoa man, slow down, ain't nobody here to hurt ya." The cop dabbed the sweat from his receding hairline with a hankie as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Well thank goodness. I thought your alien friend was gonna blow the station apart the way she barged in here." It was then that Cyborg looked around and noticed the black, charred pieces of wall surrounding the front desk. "Tell me something, are her eyes always like that?" Cyborg pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to convince himself that Starfire hadn't just held up a police station.

"Where'd ya send Slade?" He asked. The cop sank back into his chair and indicated out towards the window. The outline of a large, triangle shaped building could be seen atop a hill on the outskirts of town. The last few rays of the setting sun barely illuminating it.

"Where we send all the highly dangerous criminals, the Jump City Prison."

Meanwhile, over on the exact hill the cop had just directed Cyborg to, Jump City Prison was experiencing an _extremely _close encounter of the third kind. That third kind, happened to be an enraged Tamaranian girl with glowing green eyes. The guards, who had been reluctant to direct Starfire towards Slade, soon had a change of heart after the alien girl blasted a few holes into the walls next to their heads.

Once Starfire had Slade's cell number, she flew through the facility, blasting through doors, railings, and anything else unfortunate enough to get in her way. Shouts of alarm from guards and inmates alike reverberated through the steely prison as Starfire zipped through the corridors. Soon the auburn haired girl was hovering in front of a large cell with thick metal bars enclosing its captive.

Starfire slowly floated up and gripped the cell bars in her glowing hands. The metal underneath her palms began to glow red as Strarfire glared at the inmate within the cell. Slade was seated nonchalantly on his white cot against the back wall. He leaned back with his arms crossed and his head resting against the wall as he stared in a bored manner at Starfire. For some reason Slade had been allowed to keep his mask, but other than that, his entire outfit had been changed to a bright orange jumpsuit.

"Come to gloat have we?" Asked Slade, his head tilting to the side a bit. "Was imprisoning me in this confining institution not enough?" Eyes glowing, Starfire wordlessly wrenched apart the bars she had been holding and made a space large enough for her to fit through. After she entered the cell, Starfire jerked the bars back into place to ensure Slade would not escape. Placing a hand on the locking mechanism of the cell, Starfire used her green energy and melted the thick metal into a lump. Now they would not be disturbed.

"My my." Said Slade as he sat up. "Are you here to interrogate me? Did Robin send-" At the mention of the boy wonder the wall next Slade's head exploded in a green light. Unmoved by the shot, Slade slowly blinked his one visible eye and brushed the dust off of his left shoulder. "Was it something I said?" He asked sarcastically.

Starfire rushed across the cell and slammed Slade against the wall, pinning him to the concrete with her fore arm. Bringing her face within an inch of Slade's mask, Starfire raised her energy clad hand next to his head. The glow from her eyes reflected off of Slade's black and orange mask.

"Where is Robin?" She growled. Her voice was low and dangerous, very unlike her usual cheery sound.

"Is this a joke?" Asked Slade, thoroughly surprised. With a cry of anger, Starfire grabbed Slade by the front of his jumpsuit and slung him across the room. The metal bars of the cell clanged loudly as Slade hit the door midair. He hadn't even made contact with the ground before Starfire had him again, holding him by his collar a few feet in the air.

"I am not in the mood for the jokes!" Yelled Starfire, the glow of her eyes becoming even more intense. "Tell me what you have done with Robin!" Holding on to Starfire's wrist to steady himself, Slade glared back at the enraged teen.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He spat. "I have done nothing with Robin." Starfire dropped Slade to the ground and grabbed him by the throat with one hand. As Slade tried to pry the Tamaranian's fingers from his throat, Starfire grabbed the right side of his mask with her other hand. With her hand on his mask, Starfire began to channel energy into her palm. Slade's eye clenched shut in pain as the right side of his face began to heat up.

"Unless you desire to have your head melted." Threatened Starfire, increasing the heat in her hand. "You will tell me what happened." Slade grunted as he struggled in the teen's vice-like grip.

"Nothing happened." He insisted. "Robin came, dropped me here, and then left. That's all I swear." Starfire paused for a moment, thinking about what Slade had said, then continued to increase the heat in her hand.

"Liar." She growled. The metal of Slade's mask began to glow red under her hand, and Slade groaned in pain. Now, Starfire may have very well made good on here threat, right then and there. Luckily for Slade, however, Cyborg appeared in the doorway at that exact moment.

"Starfire stop!" He yelled, panting to catch his breath. Starfire's head snapped to the side, her glowing emerald eyes digging into Cyborg.

"Why?!" She demanded.

"Because Slade is not the culprit here." Answered Chief as he joined Cyborg outside the door. Starfire released Slade, who quickly stumbled to the back of his cell, holding his face.

"Then. Who. Is?" She asked through gritted teeth. Chief sighed and pulled a neatly folded piece of paper from inside his coat pocket.

"The guards said Robin left a note for us before he left." Chief unfolded the piece of paper to reveal an intricate drawing of a lotus flower on its center. "I'm afraid Robin has been subdued by an old acquaintance of mine."

"Where is he?"

"That's what we're going to find out.


	14. Chapter 14

After Chief had realized that Robert was behind Robin's kidnapping, he tasked Jetstream with finding the old fiend's whereabouts. While Chief and Cyborg retrieved and calmed Starfire, Jet, along with Raven and Beast Boy, began to scour the city in search of the Boy Wonder and his captor.

"You know what to look for." Chief had told Jet. "But don't do anything rash if you locate him, he'll be expecting us." The wind whipped through Jet's Black hair as he soared over a twinkling Jump City. Night had descended upon the teens as they soared across the black sky, eyeing the streets closely for any deviation from the normal nighttime bustle. The cool night air was a welcome relief to Jetstream as the thermals from earlier in the day still rose off the heated concrete of the city streets. The thin line of sweat that had formed on his brow now felt like ice droplets on his skin.

To his left, Raven's dark cloak billowed out behind her as she scanned the city, using her powers to help her see. To his right, Beast Boy glided along in the form of a falcon, easily catching the heat rising off the ground with his broad wingspan. The trio hadn't spoken more than a word since they began their search. Their victory over Slade short lived, the teens were now faced with a new foe. One that was powerful enough, apparently, to entrap one of their best and brightest. It was enough to make even Beast Boy, who was normally full of levity, become serious and grim.

Jetstream had directed the team's search for Robin as soon as they had taken off. He immediately headed towards the richest part of the city, and told Raven and Beast Boy to look for the nicest, most expensive buildings. The man they were searching for had an infatuation with the finer things in life. He was attracted to opulence like a fly to honey. If the old man was going to be anywhere in the city, it was going to be the most luxurious place possible.

After about thirty minutes of flying aimlessly through the nicer parts of the city, the three teens had nothing to show for it. Raven glided closer to Jetstream and pulled her hood back.

"This is taking too long Jet." She said, still eying the ground. "I know we're looking for high class buildings, but Jump City had a lot of those. I there anything else we could be looking for?"

"Yeah man." Commented Beast Boy. "We're looking for a needle in a haystack here." Jet sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Suddenly his head perked up and he looked to Raven.

"Along with a ridiculously high standard of living, the guy we're looking for, Meetheus, loves old buildings. Like, churches and stuff. Are there any of those around here?" Raven thought for a moment, then nodded her head to the side.

"There's a huge old cathedral not far from here. The city keeps it up to maintenance because it has historical value."

"Sounds perfect, let's go." Replied Jet, the city lights reflecting off his glasses. Raven pulled up her hood as she took the lead and veered off to the left. After a couple more minutes of flying, Raven took a dive and alighted on the edge of a large, flat building. She walked to the edge of the roof as Jetstream and Beast Boy dropped down behind her.

"Think this is the place?" Asked Beast Boy as he transformed back into his regular self.

"Yeah, definitely." Said Jetstream grimly as he eyed the cathedral. The church was on the other side of the street from the building they had landed on, and its top spiral reached high over their heads. Large, thick columns of brown stone connected to vast archways that crested over the dark entrance to the church. Countless stain glass windows were lined all along the different levels of the buildings. Though they must have been beautiful to look at during the day, the dark glow of the moon gave them an ominous appearance. This effect was built upon by the stone carvings etched into the outer walls, depicting demons and angels alike locked in combat.

And though the entire structure seemed to reflect the personality of the madman they were after, the thing that made Jetstream completely positive they had found the right place, was the large basket of fresh lotus flowers that had been placed on the doorstep. After a nod from Jetstream, Raven flipped open her communicator and contacted Cyborg.

"Cyborg, we found him."

As soon as Raven relayed their location to Cyborg, he Chief, and Starfire began to race over to the others as quickly as they could. It really amazed Chief how fast the T-car could move, especially since its wheels weren't touching the ground. Chief held on to his hat as he leaned out the passenger window, they were flying at an incredible pace nearly twenty feet above the street, causing shouts of alarm and distress from the nighttime city dwellers below. Leaning back in, Chief saw that Cyborg was clutching the steering wheel with both hands, a look of terror on his face.

"Afraid of heights?" Asked Chief, a smirk on his face.

"No." Replied Cyborg, his knuckles cracking as he squeezed the wheel tighter. He and Chief both leaned hard to the right as the car veered around a sharp turn. Lights from street signs and buildings lining either side of the road flashed against the T-cars paint as it flew through the air.

"Just a little nervous that a ticked off alien girl is about to wreck my baby." Chief laughed as he leaned back out the window and looked up on top of the car. Starfire, her eyes green with energy, was flying at a furious speed towards the cathedral, the T-car locked in her iron grip. The railing along the top side of the car bent underneath her fingers with the weight of the car. Her auburn hair whipped behind her as she adjusted her grip, throwing Chief and Cyborg around inside the car like ragdolls.

"Check that." Grumbled Cyborg. "A lot nervous." Despite the traveling hazards, the trio made record time to the cathedral, arriving in less than ten minutes. The T-car dropped to the ground with a crash in front of the old church as Starfire released it. As she turned to enter the old building, Raven, Jetstream, and Beast Boy floated down from across the street.

"Starfire, wait." Called Jet.

"No." She replied, not even turning around.

"But Star…" Started Beast Boy.

"No, Robin is-" Starfire cut off and snapped her head back over her shoulder as a hand wrapped around her ankle. Chief had gotten out of the T-car, half dazed, and grabbed Starfire to stop her.

"Robin is fine." Asserted Chief. "The man who has him, Meetheus, may be evil and borderline phycotic, but he's smart. He knows that Robin is the only reason we're even coming. He won't get his prize without Robin. He is safe." Starfire glared at Chief for a moment, then turned and began to float towards the cathedral again.

"Then we should free Robin before Meetheus has a changes of the mind."

"Starfire!" Grunted Chief as he was pulled atop the T-car, his shoes scraping for traction. Chief planted the end of his staff in the railing to stop himself.

"Hey hey! Watch the paint!" Yelled Cyborg as he got out of the car.

"Starfire, listen to me!" Cried Chief. Starfire didn't reply, or even look back, but she did stop. "Would you say I'm a smart guy?" The question confused Starfire and she looked back over her shoulder at the fedora clad teen.

"Yes?"

"And Robin is pretty smart too, right?"

"Yes."

"Well this guy outsmarted us both." Said Chief, releasing Starfire's ankle. "And no matter how many things you blow up in there, he is going to have a plan for it, understand." Starfire stared at the ground for a moment, then sighed as she floated to the ground. The bright green eyes from her eyes faded to reveal a look of hopelessness that Chief normally only saw from Jetstream when a potential cure hit a dead end.

"Then what can we do?" Asked Starfire, looking to Chief.

"Don't worry." Replied Chief, adjusting his hat. "I've got a plan."


	15. Chapter 15

"It's not gonna work…"

"Shut up, yes it will."

"Your plans are the worst; don't you remember the Japan incident?"

"Be quiet! My plans have a 99% success rate, and no one could have predicted what happened in Japan!"

"Yes, but that 1% of failure gets someone killed 100% of the time."

"Silence! All of you! This. Plan. Will. Work!"

"…But Chief, you're up against _him_…"

"…I know."

Chief pinched the crown of his nose as he tried to soothe his throbbing head. The other personalities always became more active whenever he was under too much stress. Under normal circumstances he could have just ignored their stupid remarks, but as the time to face Meetheus drew nearer and nearer, the added stress made them impossible not to acknowledge.

"Yo Chief, you alright? You've been mumbling to yourself for the past ten minutes."

Chief felt a large, metallic hand grip his shoulder. Looking up, Chief saw the concern on Cyborgs face and gave him a mock smile.

"Yeah, just going over the plan one more time," Cyborg tried to hide it, but Chief saw the flash of uncertainty that crossed his half robotic face.

"I know it sounds risky," Condoned Chief as he lifted Cyborg's hand from his shoulder, "And that's because, it is."

He admitted, "But if we're going to free Robin and prevent Meetheus from running wild in your city, it's the only way."

Cyborg sighed and crossed his arms, "I've got faith in you Chief, but if you can't handle him, then what?"

Chief pulled the bill of his hat down over his eyes and adjusted his grip on his staff.

"Then we go to plan B," He replied softly. Cyborgs head snapped towards Chief.

"What?" He asked urgently, "We didn't go over a plan B!"

Chief hoisted his staff and walked towards the cathedral entrance.

"Don't worry," He said grimly over his shoulder, "We won't have to use it. Get everybody in position, it's time."

As Chief crossed the dimly lit city street, and strode towards the gaping maw of the open cathedral, Cyborg shook his head and activated the communicator on his wrist.

"Titans to position, it's go time."

After Chief disappeared into the inky blackness of the cathedral entrance, Cyborg set a timer on his wrist for five minutes. Taking one last look at the starry night sky, Cyborg turned and jogged around the side of the huge church. He hoped this worked.

The inside of the ancient building smelled of dust and decrepit stone, and as Chief made his way under the archway of the entrance, a cold breeze flowed out of the buildings center and caused the hairs on the back of Chief's neck to stand on end. Taking a deep breath and adjusting his thick, brown coat, Chief entered the chapel of the long abandoned church.

The large entryway was nothing compared to the enormity of the room Chief walked into. Huge, marble archways lined the sides of the walls and rose into the ceiling, connecting together at the top. Tall metal stands, adorned with brightly lit torches, dotted the rows of ornately decorated wooden pews and cast dancing shadows upon the vibrant tapestries that hung overhead. Moonlight flittered in dimly through the stain glass windows in the arches of the ceiling, and cast soft rays of blue light upon the dust circulating through the air. Oh yeah, definitely a Meetheus atmosphere.

Striding down the center aisle, Chief's staff echoed ominously around the stadium sized room. Looking ahead, he saw that the pulpit at which the preacher or priest would normally stand had been ripped out, and replaced by a decorative golden throne with red velvet seating. The throne was flanked by two equally ornate tables that held various exotic fruits, silver flasks, and the odd piece of technology. And there, seated upright with chin held high, clothed in sine silk robes, was the man behind the madness, Meetheus.

Chief stopped at the foot of the small set of stone steps leading up to the throne and glared at his senescent, malicious foe. Meetheus returned the gaze, with a look not of anger or rage, but of amusement. The few strands of white hair atop the old man's wrinkled scalp quivered as a slight breeze floated through the church. Chief had been anticipating, fearing even, this encounter ever since he opened up the letter at the prison and saw the lotus flower. But now that he was here, standing before the man that threatened the life of one of his newest friends, Chief felt strangely calm. Meetheus raised an eyebrow at Chief, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"You came alone?" He asked, his strong, powerful voice contradicting his elderly appearance.

"Am I not enough for you anymore Meetheus?" Countered Chief.

Meetheus tilted his head back and gave a hearty laugh that reverberated against the ancient stone walls.

"No! Of course not, I was just hoping to have a bit more fun this time," Meetheus sniffed as he reached over to his table and grabbed a large, silver goblet; as he brought the goblet to his lips, however, he stopped and indicated to the table, "My my, where are manners? Are you hungry?"

Chief glared at Meetheus and took a step forward, "Cut the formalities Meetheus; what do you want?"

The old man's smile disappeared as he sat the goblet back down on the table, and leaned forward in his throne.

"Very well Chief, I'll get right to it; you give me the orb, and I give you back Robin."

Chief's hand slid instinctively to the top of his staff where the silver ball sat. He had anticipated this.

"What's to stop me from just taking Robin?" Asked Chief, "Your mind control can't touch me anymore; you know as well as I do it only works once."

Meetheus nodded almost sympathetically and leaned back in his chair.

"True," He mused, rubbing his chin, "While you are resistant to my powers, and, me being as on in my years as I am, you may very well be able to muscle Robin out of my grasp."

Chief had an uneasy feeling about the tone of his voice.

"However," Meetheus snapped his fingers, and a blur of red and black leapt up from behind his throne and landed on the steps in front of Chief; Robin stood, brandishing his staff at Chief, in a fighting position.

"You may want to ask if he even wants to leave first."

Chief cursed under his breath as he looked at the grim set face of the Boy Wonder. Even though his mask covered his eyes, Chief knew they were filled with a dark shade of purple energy. Chief had hoped that Robin would be strong enough to resist the Meetheus' influence, but it was evident he had been too optimistic. They would have to move forward with the plan after all.

"So," Said Meetheus, "You hand over the orb, and I release Robin from his thralldom."

Chief pushed the back of his hat down and sighed, "You know I can't do that."

Meetheus gave Chief a disappointed look and adjusted his robes.

"Very well then, but I'm leaving here with that artifact; whether you hand it over willingly or not."

As Meetheus' eyes suddenly began to glow dark purple, Robin twirled his staff and leveled it at Chief.

"You think I can't take Robin on my own?" Asked Chief with a hint of bravado.

In truth he wasn't sure he could, but he had to sound confident. Meetheus touched a hand to his lips and nodded his head.

"Maybe, but just in case."

With another snap of his finger, four identical men dressed in skin tight black suits emerged from the shadows and stood on either side of Robin; the Androids. A group of robotic human replicas developed by Meetheus several years ago. The old man was a bit paranoid in his scheming, and trusted no other human beings to aid in his endeavors. As a result, he created and mass produced the Androids to serve as his henchmen. Despite their mundane, identical appearance, they were fast, strong, and knew how to fight. In short, Chief was in trouble.

"Oh," Said Chief, taking a few steps back, "You brought back-up."

"Indeed," Replied Meetheus smugly.

"Wow, wish I had thought of that. Oh, wait a second..."

Chief smiled as the timer in his coat pocket went off. Suddenly Raven appeared from the shadows alongside Jetstream and floated over to Chief, her hands blackened as she lifted an entire wooden pew above her head. The tapestries whipped around on their hooks as Jet rose into the air balled his hands into fists. A stain glass window in the roof shattered as Starfire and Beast Boy (in the form of a hawk) flew into the room and alighted to the right of Chief. Beast Boy let loose a deafening screech as Starfire's eyes once again began to glow a dangerous shade of green. And finally, Cyborg burst in through the side entrance of cathedral and slid into positon behind Chief, his sonic cannon pulsing with power as he aimed it at Meetheus.

"...I did." Finished Chief.

"Well now," said Meetheus, eyeing the situation, "It seems we have a full house, shall we begin?"

Chief smiled and tilted his neck to the side, loudly cracking several joints in his neck.

"Gladly," He replied.

Robin made the first move, leaping high into the air and bringing his staff down above his head, aiming for Chief's skull. Not budging an inch, Chief looked up and grinned. Robin's staff stopped an inch from Chief's nose, intercepted by the glowing hand of a particularly ticked off Tamaranian teenage girl. Before the Boy Wonder's feet even touched the ground, Starfire slung him backwards, sending him crashing through several rows of pews.

"Apologies Robin, it is for your own good," As Starfire flew off to deal with Robin, the Androids sprang into action, targeting the other team members.

Raven swung the wooden pew she had been holding like a bat and sent one of the black clad robotic creations flying backward as it leapt at her. It hit one of the stone archways with a resounding clang and fell to the ground. Almost as soon as it had landed, however, it bounced up and continued to pursue her.

While Beast Boy went hand to hand with the second Android in the form of a bear, Cyborg blasted the third repeatedly with his cannon. As the screech of claw on metal cut through the air, Cyborg grunted in frustration as the third Android skillfully dodged his shots. Finally, the Android was sent flying back as a blast of the blue energy collided with his chest.

Cyborg quickly followed his shot and jumped high into the air, aiming a punch at the stunned robot. The ground cracked underneath the Android as Cyborg drove his fist into its chest. The metal skin of the bot dinted inward a bit, but held firm. Suddenly the Android grabbed Cyborgs arm and rolled back, placing his feet on the teens gut and shoving hard, sending him soaring into the stone steps in the front of the church.

Meanwhile, the final Android leapt time and time again at Jetstream, who was hovering in the middle of the huge room. Using the air, Jet repeatedly sent the bot flying off course and crashing into the walls. Learning from its mistakes, the Android leapt once more at Jetstream and, when hit with the gust of air, adjusted its body midair and planted its feet on the wall. Acting quickly, the robot lunged at Jetstream and wrapped its arms in a vice grip around the dark haired teen's shoulders.

Before he could be taken to the ground, Jetstream spun and shot a blast of air away from the wall. The two airborne combatants shot off like a rocket and slammed into the marble wall Jet's spin had ensured that the Android was sandwiched between himself and the wall. The force of the impact, while giving Jetstream a major headache, managed to shake loose the Android, and it plummeted to the ground.

All the while Starfire occupy Robin, and the others dealt with the Androids, Chief was locked in a fierce mental battle with Meetheus. When Meetheus had asked 'shall we begin' the others assumed he was talking about the entire group fighting. Chief, however, knew that Meetheus was referring to the mind games he and Chief always competed in when they met. Neither of the telepaths had moved an inch since the fighting broke out. Chief stood stock still, clutching his staff as the orb at the top glowed purple in accordance with his eyes. Meetheus returned Chief's gaze from his position in the throne, his eyes glowing a much darker shade of purple.

The two telepaths struggled against one another in an invisible battle, each trying to breach the others mind. And while Chief struggled valiantly to resist his adversaries powerful telekinetic energy, he could feel that he was slowly wearing out, just like every other time before. He wouldn't be able to hold out much longer, and Meetheus knew it, as a slight smile played across his lips.

"Where was he?" Thought Chief desperately to himself, "The timer went off long ago; he was supposed to be here by now!"

"What was that, Chief?" Mocked Meetheus, his thoughts breaking into Chief's mind, "Are you giving up so soon?"

"Tch, it's japan all over again."

"Shut up!" Chief yelled mentally.

"Ohohoho! Having a bit of internal conflict are we?" Taunted Meetheus, breaching Chief's mind again.

"Grrrr," Chief winced as he felt himself begin to weaken, a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.

"Tell me, was this really all you had planned? A one shot attack strategy?" Meetheus shook his head slightly, "I'm disappointed."

Just as the corners of Chief's vision began to go black, the air next to Meetheus' throne began to shimmer, and a buzzing sound floated through the air. Chief smiled wearily; he made it.

"I mean, a six man attack was really just..."

"Seven," Mumbled Chief mentally.

"What was that?" Asked Meetheus, sounding surprised in Chief's head.

"Seven man attack," Repeated Chief, trying not to lose consciousness, "I don't believe you've met, Meetheus, meet Tachaner, one of my team members."

Before Meetheus could react, the form of a short, stout young man solidified next to him and placed his hands on either side of the old man's head. The boy's blonde, buzz cut hair sparked with energy as he winked one bright blue eye at Chief and flexed his shoulders. Electricity crackled down the teens well defined and tattooed arms, causing his hands to vibrate as it jumped to Meetheus' head. The ancient old man went slack jawed as the powerful volts of electricity coursed through his head.

Chief sucked in a deep breath as he felt Meetheus withdraw from his mind and pass out. Giving a quick hand signal to Tachaner to stop, Chief leaned on his staff for support and surveyed the room. By a stroke of luck, the Androids remote control had been in the folds of Meetheus' robes, and automatically shut off the bots when Tachaner's electricity fried its circuits. As the metal monstrosities fell to the ground with a clang, the purple faded from Robin's eyes, and he wobbled as he held a hand to his head. Starfire caught the Boy Wonder before he fell, the green fading her eyes that were now full of concern for her dear friend.

"Hey Star," Said Robin slowly, his eyes blinking heavily, "How're ya doi... OOF!"

Robin involuntarily gasped as Starfire's eyes began to water, and she pulled him into a spine crushing hug. Chief chuckled at the two Titans as Jetstream floated down next to him. As Tachaner released the unconscious Meetheus and descended the stairs, Jetstream crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at his teammate.

"You're late Tach," He reprimanded.

Tachaner spread his arms wide and gave Chief and Jetstream a pleading look.

"I make it halfway across the country in ten minutes, and I'm late?"

"We agreed on five when I called you," Stated Chief.

Tachaner shrugged sheepishly.

"Had to recharge at a power station halfway here; my bad," Tachaner hooked a thumb back at Meetheus, "But I gave the old guy quite the shock, didn't I?"

As Chief ran a hand over his face, and Jet shook his head, Tachaner guffawed with laughter.


End file.
